Voices of WRJ: Tol’dot

This week we continue the story of a family, but this week is a woman’s story that raises some important ideas for us to consider. In Tol’dot (Genesis 25:19-28:9), we are reintroduced to Rebekah. This portion focuses on her relationships: her relationship to God, her relationship to her husband Isaac, and her relationship to her twins. While sibling rivalry is talked about, the story comes back to Rebecca. She runs her family. Rebekah is presented as a woman who ensures the proper continuation of the covenant. Rebekah is praised for her virtuous behavior. She is one of the few women who take center stage in the Torah. My guess is that today she would stand with the Women of the Wall. As Reform Jewish women who are involved in Women of Reform Judaism, we have broadened our involvement beyond the family to include the synagogue and the broader community. We have broadened our definition of ourselves to include our role in the sisterhood, in the synagogue, and in the community. One of the things that the portion points out is that it is the relationships that women have that define women. While the primary relationship for many continues to be the family, women take this focus on relationships into everything that we do. This adds an intensity and depth to our work. We bring this to our board meetings and our committee work which, I believe, add to our interactions with each other and sets a tone for our work and deliberations. We learn about relationships in our families and in the examples provided. My mother taught us the value of family but also the value of additionally defining ourselves by involvement beyond the home and family in a career and in the community. She taught us the value of education and especially a Jewish education. And she taught us the value of sisterhood and of being involved beyond the home. She was the model of what we could be and do. She was president of her sisterhood and my sister and I followed her example by becoming presidents of our congregations’ sisterhoods. And all three of us followed that example in our families teaching the same lessons to our children. One of the joys of my life has been my involvement in Central District and the WRJ Board. As Rebekah had to find her way, each of us has to find the balance that allowed us to do it all and feel good about it. Each of us finds our own way. Women of Reform Judaism, in its 100 Years, has been the way the women have found that balance in their lives. Through WRJ, women have learned about themselves, their Judaism, and their world.  As our Mission Statement says, “Stronger together, we support the ideals and enhance the quality of Jewish living to ensure the future of progressive Judaism in North America, Israel and around the world.” Hilda R. Glazer is Immediate Past President of WRJ Central District and a member of Temple Beth Shalom in New Albany, OH.