2003
ISSUE 62
13
Eskenazi entered academic life
while raising her five children
and after exploring other tradi-
tions and other sacred texts.
Study for its own sake led to an
undergraduate degree in
Philosophy, a Master’s degree
specializing in the New
Testament and Second Temple
text and her doctorate from the
University of Denver and its Iliff
School of Theology. Citing not
only Rosenzweig and Buber, but
also Tolstoy, Gandhi, Thomas
Merton, and the Catholic worker
Dorothy Day as her spiritual
mentors, her intellectual and
spiritual quest brought her to the
Bible, “not because it’s the only
literature I’ve looked at, but
because I’ve looked at others. I
was able to come to this as the
most alive and meaningful text
to me, a love that I communicate
to my students. I consider it a
source for a vocabulary and val-
ues with which to construct a
world and create communities
that have the power to sustain
and inspire people.”
At a time when scholarly circles
apart from the Jewish communi-
ty are coming to the realization
that there is a significant connec-
tion between academic concerns
and lived lives, Eskenazi reminds
us that seminaries like HUC-JIR
have never lost the connection
between thought and practice.
“
We have such an extraordinary
concentration of scholars special-
izing in the study, interpretation,
and research of Jewish text. We
possess an incomparable reservoir
for Jewish studies. We have a
tremendous opportunity and
responsibility to express this kind
of research and learning that
takes place in a context that is so
thoroughly Jewish – that is con-
nected not only academically but
is connected existentially to the
lives of persons and community.”
Our commitment to women means that we prima-
rily attune to the voices of women - in the text and
in our community. Throughout history our human
family, our Jewish family, has been sorely deprived
of half of our ancestors – we are ready to become a
more complete community.
In practice all this entails looking most closely at
texts where women appear and asking why they do
not appear elsewhere where they belong. It means
asking who they were and how they lived, where
they were and where they were not. It means listen-
ing to their words and listening even harder to their
silences. Listening also means that we continue to
listen as we work on the commentary.
Jews never resorted to a single voice. The very first
pages of the Torah resist a single voice: Genesis
begins with two versions of creation, two voices
that disagree as well as complement each other in
describing the origins of the world. The conversa-
tion between different voices continues in the
Jewish tradition in the way traditional Jewish Bibles
were printed over the centuries. The Torah text typ-
ically appeared on the page surrounded by
commentators who responded to the text and often
to each other. Consequently, along with the Torah
there were always Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Ramban,
Sforno, and many others.
Our commentary follows this model by incorporat-
ing different voices, including those of the rabbinic
sages from our past and rabbinic and other sages
from the present.
We will always interact with rabbinic traditions.
We want to enjoy Rashi’s sensitivity when speaking
about the five daughters of Zelophehad. In
Parashat Pinhas
from the Book of Numbers/
Bemidbar
,
for example, he compares them favor-
ably with Moses.
These five sisters in the Book of Numbers
approach Moses, the leaders of the people, and
the entire community. They draw near because
they see a problem that needs a solution: the
problem is that they have not been given an
inheritance that they believe is due to them. They
refuse to be left out and demand their rightful
share. And so they dare speak to Moses, the priest
Eleazar, all the other leaders, and the entire
edah
(
congregation or formally constituted assembly).
They say: “Give us a holding among our father’s
kin.” (Numbers 27:4) Give us a share of our
heritage, why should we be left out.
They get what they want – a share, a large share
I should add. Moreover, as a result of their courage,
a new Torah law is created, one that intends to
benefit future generations long after them.
Their story is the story of
The WRJ Women’s
Commentary on the Torah
.
The women of Reform
Judaism said: “Give us a share among our brothers.
We are no longer willing to be left out.” Instead of
land, the WRJ ask for something even more endur-
ing – “give us a share of our Torah.” The result is a
Torah commentary that we trust will benefit all of
us. With this commentary we will continue as sis-
ters to empower the women – and men – who
come after us for generations to come.
LISTENING TO OUR MOTHERS:
THE WOMEN OF REFORM
JUDAISMWOMEN’S COMMENTARY ON TORAH
(
continued from page 11)
Share in the learning of
“
Mining the Jewish Tradition for its Healing Wisdom”
The HUC-JIR Kalsman Institute on Judaism and Health
and
Temple Chai of Phoenix
hosted this interna-
tional conference in May for nearly 300 rabbis, physicians, nurses, cantors, educators, artists, mental-
health professionals, and lay people interested in Judaism’s health-related texts and resources. For video
and text of keynote speeches by
Rabbi Elliot Dorff
– “
Mishneh Ha-Briyyot: A New Jewish Approach to
Disabilities,”
Dr. Tamara Cohn Eskenazi
– “
Biblical Reflections on Holiness, Health and Hope,”
Dr. Arnie
Eisen
– “
Choose Life: American Jews and the Quest for Healing,” and
Dr. Arthur Green
– “
Healing the Self,
Healing the Cosmos: Reflections in the Neo-Hasidic Spirit,” please click on
http://www.huc.edu/kalsman