Gender and Jewish studies

Gender and Jewish Studies is an emerging subfield at the intersection of gender studies, queer studies, and Jewish studies. Gender studies centers on interdisciplinary research on the phenomenon of gender. It focuses on cultural representations of gender and people's lived experience.^[1] Similarly, queer studies focuses on the cultural representations and lived experiences of queer identities to critique hetero-normative values of sex and sexuality.^[2] Jewish studies is a field that looks at Jews and Judaism, through such disciplines as history, anthropology, literary studies, linguistics, and sociology. As such, scholars of gender and Jewish studies are considering gender as the basis for understanding historical and contemporary Jewish societies.^[3] This field recognizes that much of recorded Jewish history and academic writing is told from the perspective of “the male Jew” and fails to accurately represent the diverse experiences of Jews with non-dominant gender identities.^[4]

History

Jewish law, or halacha, recognizes intersex and non-conforming gender identities in addition to male and female.^[5][6] Rabbinical literature recognizes six different genders, defined according to the development and presentation of primary and secondary sex characteristics at birth and later in life.^[7] Jewish literature describes what today would be referred to as intersex such as the concept of a tumtum being a person of ambiguous gender and/or sex as is the concept of the androgynos, being a person characterized with elements of both sexes. The recognition of six different genders in rabbinical literature underscores the nuanced understanding of gender in Jewish tradition. This highlights the complexity of gender roles within Judaism, contributing to ongoing discussions and academic exploration in gender and Jewish studies.^[8] One aspect of Gender and Jewish studies is considering how the ambiguity recognized in Rabbinical literature has been erased and constructed into a binary and how this translates into Jewish practices.^[9]

Gender as it relates to Jewish studies has drawn increasing scholarly interest due in part to the founding of the Association for Jewish Studies' Woman's caucus in 1968, as well as gender studies and Jewish studies gaining interest as areas of academic study in the 1980s and fueled as well by popular and academic attention to Jewish feminism.^[10][11] The U.S.-based Association for Jewish Studies woman's caucus, works "to advance the study of gender within the Association for Jewish Studies and within the wider academic community" ^[12] and widely influenced Jewish studies as a whole to incorporate a gendered perspective in Jewish Scholarship.^[13] AJS holds at least one panel on gender every annual meeting, provides funding for presentations on gender and Judaism and published a collection of syllabi pertaining to gender. As universities established women's studies programs, they were often highly influenced and connected to Jewish studies as well.^[14] In 1997, Brandeis University established the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute, the first university-based research institution dedicated to Gender and Jewish studies. The institution aims to "develop fresh ways of thinking about Jews and gender worldwide by producing and promoting scholarly research and artistic projects."^[15] The Hadassah-Brandeis Institute publishes books and journals, holds conferences, and provides funding for Gender and Jewish Studies scholarship. For example, the Nashim Journal is a bi-annual academic journal dedicated to the advancement of Gender and Jewish studies, was co-founded by the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute and the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem.^[16] Additionally, this scholarship is not limited to the United States, or countries with historically large Jewish populations, with contributions being made from Jewish Studies departments at academic institutions across the globe.^[17]

In addition, controversies over the role of women in Jewish denominations and the gender separation in Orthodox Judaism has drawn attention to gender roles, as constructed and regulated by religious institutions. For this reason, besides the academic attention, the liberal Jewish movements turn to gender and Judaism to reinforce their own mission and identity. Notably, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College has established the Gottesman Chair in Gender and Judaism and operates Kolot — the Center for Jewish Women's and Gender Studies ",^[18] the first such center established at a rabbinical seminary (1996).

Gender dynamics in Jewish communities

Amidst ongoing debates over gender roles in Jewish denominations and the nuances of gender separation in Orthodox Judaism, the differentiation in modesty standards observed by Hasidic women offers insight into the complexities of religiously regulated gender norms. While strict modesty rules are upheld within the community, there is leniency in interactions with men perceived to adhere to liberal norms. This dynamic reflects broader discussions within Jewish denominations regarding the role of women and the impact of religious institutions on gender norms. Institutions like the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College's Gottesman Chair in Gender and Judaism and Kolot - the Center for Jewish Women's and Gender Studies, aim to address these complexities and reinforce the mission of liberal Jewish movements in promoting gender equality and inclusivity within religious contexts.^[19]

Despite the progress made in women's economic participation in Israeli society, there persists a traditional division of household labor, indicating enduring gender perceptions. While women have advanced in the public sphere, their increased engagement hasn't led to a proportional shift in domestic responsibilities among spouses. This pattern holds even among employed women, who contribute significantly to the workforce, underscoring the resilience of traditional gender roles within the private sphere. This suggests a disparity between societal attitudes towards gender roles and the actual distribution of household tasks, warranting ongoing efforts to address gender inequalities in both public and private domains.^[20]

Terms

• Zachar (זָכָר): This term is usually translated as "male" in English.^[21]
• Neqeva (נקבה): This term is derived from the word for a crevice and probably refers to a vaginal opening. It is usually translated as "female" in English.^[22]
• Androgynos (אנדרוגינוס): A person who has both "male" and "female" physical sexual characteristics. 149 references in the Mishnah and Talmud (1st–8th centuries); 350 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes (2nd–16th centuries). According to Rabbi Meir in the Mishnah, it is "a unique creature, neither male nor female".^[23]
• Tumtum (טומטום): A person whose sexual characteristics are indeterminate or obscured. 181 references in the Mishnah and Talmud; 335 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes. Rabbi Meir contrasts it with the androgynos, saying it is not a unique creation, "sometimes a man and sometimes a woman".^[23] Unlike the androgynos, the tumtum's gender can be revealed to be either male or female and as such has different roles under Jewish Law.^[24] Some Rabbi believe Abraham and Sarah were described to be tumtum, unable to conceive before God intervened.^[25]
• Ayelonit (איילונית): A female who does not develop secondary sex characteristics at puberty and is assumed infertile.^[26]
• Saris (סריס): A male who does not develop secondary sex characteristics at puberty or has their sex characteristics removed. A saris can fall into one of two categories: One can be "naturally" born a saris (saris hamah) or one can become a saris through human intervention (saris adam).^[27]

Scope

The history Gender and Jewish studies began primarily through research on Jewish women and the role of women in Judaism and Jewish culture.^[17]

Nonetheless, gender and Jewish studies also investigate the gender phenomena pertaining to men and masculinity. In addition, the subfield encompasses research on Jewish views on homosexuality and queer theory as these pertain to Jews and Judaism.

In historical terms, gender and Jewish studies span a broad range, from Biblical exegesis, research on rabbinic literature, Medieval Jewish culture, the importance of gender in Jewish responses to modernity, and gender identity politics in the contemporary period.

There is a growing subfield in the study of gender and Judaism, which sees the binaries of male and female as crucial constructs in Jewish thought.^[28][29][30]

While the male/female dialectic first makes its appearance in the story of creation, the Talmud insists that the idea of male and female extends way beyond sex roles: "Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: Everything that the Holy One, Blessed be He, created in His world, He created male and female. [...] (Isaiah 27:1)".^[31]

This dialectic takes on even greater theological significance in light of the Song of Songs, which has been traditionally interpreted as a metaphor for the relationship between God and the Nation of Israel, where the Nation of Israel is cast as feminine towards God, who is represented in the story by the male lover.

Other examples of topics in which the male/female dynamic is used metaphorically include: the relationship between Shabbat and the days of the week,^[32] the relationship between the Oral and Written Law, the relationship between This World and the Next, the interplay between the legal and extra-legal aspects of Talmud (halacha and aggadah),^[33] and the Jewish calendar, which makes use of both the sun (traditionally symbolic of the male force) and the moon (traditionally symbolic of the female force).^[34]

There is also a movement among queer and gender nonconforming Jews to use Torah as a basis for questioning a gender binary. These conversations are more present in Reconstructionist and Reform Judaism, but they also appear in Orthodox Judaism.^[35]

See also

• Gender separation in Judaism
• Jewish feminism
• Women in Judaism
• Kate Bornstein, gender theorist raised Conservative
• Daniel Boyarin, gender and Talmudic culture scholar
• Judith Butler, gender theorist and a self-described anti-Zionist Jewish American
• Nice Jewish boy, on masculinity
• Elana Maryles Sztokman, Jewish feminist author and thought-leader
• Jay Michaelson, queer theorist and Kabbalist.
• Shulamith Firestone, radical feminist theorist raised Orthodox
• Miriam Kosman, Orthodox Jewish scholar and author on gender and Judaism
• Kalonymus ben Kalonymus
• Devorah Heshelis, Orthodox author about women's status in Judaism
• Joy Ladin, first transgender professor at an Orthodox University and prominent scholar on transgender theology.
• Judith Plaskow, American Theologian and Jewish Feminism scholar.
• Gunther Plaut American Reform Rabbi
• Tamar Ross Israeli Philosopher has made significant contributions to considering gender in Jewish scholarship.