Mourning the Loss of Rivka Haut, Honoring Her Memory

On March 30, 2014, the Jewish community lost a giant: Rivka Haut. In her advocacy for women’s advancement Jewish life, on behalf of agunot, and Jewish scholarship, Rivka leaves us with a legacy that is not only a guide for what we can achieve, but a call to action to continue her work.

Haut might be best known to WRJ for helping to found Women of the Wall. In fact, it was her idea, for women to gather at the Western Wall with a Torah for a prayer service. Since that day, December 1, 1988, Women of the Wall has symbolized the struggle of women to have their voices heard in ritual and in worship. Considered by so many as an Orthodox feminist, Rivka’s daughter, Sheryl Haut, nuances that view saying, “Eventually people started to call her a feminist, but she had a pretty traditional role at home. For her it wasn’t about equality between men and women, but about women’s dignity and voice.” However, Rivka’s work has paved the way for so many women to express themselves Jewishly in ways they did not imagine possible, or might have been barred by their communities. Beyond her role in opening up opportunities for women’s prayer and in fighting for agunot, Rivka’s accomplishments extend to teaching at the Academy for Jewish Religion, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, and many other places and lectures. She completed a Masters of Arts and doctoral work in Talmud at the Jewish Theological Seminary. She was also the founder of the Women’s Tefillah Network. Over Passover, as we think of the Jewish people’s liberation and exodus from Egypt, we reflect on the importance of freedom. And that is what Rivka Haut’s memory signifies: finding ways for Jewish women to express themselves in a way respectful of tradition but in defense of their own dignity, teaching many, many people Jewish texts so that they could learn to grasp and journey into Jewish learning, fighting for agunot, so that women would not be abused while seeking a religious divorce, and in so many other ways.

Zichrona livracha – may her memory be for a blessing

Featured image from Women of the Walll, depicting Rivka Haut and Rabbi Rayzel Raphael in 1988.