WRJ Voices: B'reishit

B’reishit could be interpreted as the basis for bias against the cultural and economic advancement of women throughout history. As we all remember from our Religious School education, God created the heaven and earth in six days and on the seventh day he rested. In an interpretation of B’reishit by Carol Meyers, I learned that “the traditional translation of adam can indeed mean a male and even be the proper name Adam; but it can also be a generic term for a mortal, or a human being.” Continuing, “God tells this first being that anything in the garden may be eaten except for the fruit of a certain tree.” God then decides that this first person should not be a man alone and creates a female human being known as Eve. As the story continues, we know that both Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree and were ultimately expelled from Eden for their misdeed. God’s actions may make us believe that women were lesser human beings since they were created second and caused the banishment from Eden. Hence, a rationale was born that justified discrimination based on gender.

We have recently witnessed in Charlottesville white supremacists and Nazi followers exhibiting blatant anti-Semitism. While carrying their signs and shouting slogans, Jewish worshippers were forced to leave their temple by the back door as the congregants feared for their safety from outside protestors. While most American Jews have recognized that there has always existed a latent anti-Semitism in some underground groups, the Charlottesville protests brought such discrimination to the surface. When watching angry men carrying signs which read, “Jews, you will not replace us,” all of us should have been taken aback by the vitriol of such attacks. Should we, as Reform Jews simply sit back and expect society will eventually settle down and go back to “normal?” The answer is NO! What is beginning to happen is that Jewish and non-Jewish organizations are now standing up and beginning to combat these extreme forms of anti-Semitism. URJ, WRJ, as well as the vast majority of Jews will never be the same as a result of Charlottesville.

While our focus may currently be on anti-Semitism, we must not diminish our efforts to combat gender bias. When we, as Jewish women, see discrimination against our daughters and granddaughters, we must take action individually and collectively to correct inequities. We can’t let Charlottesville devalue what we, as WRJ women, have stood for, for over 100 years.

WRJ is a leader in our stance for women’s rights. When you support WRJ efforts for such issues as pay equity, reproductive rights and gender-based violence, to name a few, your voice can be heard. Taken directly from the website, “WRJ takes pride in its history of advocacy for women’s equality in the rabbinate, in the workplace, and in our society, raising voices for women’s suffrage and reproductive rights and taking a stand to end violence against women.”

We, as educated, active Jewish women cannot be complacent. In his sermon on Rosh Hashanah morning, my Rabbi reminded us of what actions each of us can take, including: writing letters to our leaders; becoming activists in Jewish community outreach programs in our women’s groups and temples; speaking out against all forms of discrimination where appropriate; and donating monetary resources. We cannot expect others to take the lead to effect change. We must all be part of the solution!

When we are successful in tikkun olam by minimizing anti-Semitism and gender bias we will be taking a step further in making our world the “Eden” that it was in the beginning.

Robin Sobol is WRJ board member and a member of Congregation Beth Emeth in Albany, NY. She is also an active member of the Beth Emeth Sisterhood.