UNITED STATES
The Jewish Daily Forward
By Beth Kissileff
A respected rabbi installing cameras in the preparation room of the mikveh in the building next door to his synagogue? The sensationalistic story of alleged voyeur Rabbi Barry Freundel seems tailor-made to go viral in our internet age. So what can be done to counteract the negative publicity this gives to the observance of mikveh, the Jewish ritual bath, and to general trust in rabbis? How can we ensure this type of situation (assuming the allegations are true — that has yet to be legally corroborated) doesn’t happen again?
It’s simple: Put women in charge of the mikveh system.
I’d like to see a world where the mikveh and all questions about it are totally overseen by female scholars, who possess the relevant Jewish legal wisdom and are permitted to be part of that authority structure.
This is an area where we women need to be trusted with the knowledge of our own bodies and how they function. This is an area where we should be the main experts.
I recently interviewed a number of women trained as yoatzot halacha, legal advisors, at Nishmat in Jerusalem, for an article on female educators. These women have studied the laws of “family purity” and are able to answer questions over the phone and online from women all around the world, and from all walks of Jewish life. Manhattan’s Yeshivat Maharat — the only Jewish seminary dedicated to training Orthodox women as synagogue clergy — is likewise educating a new generation of female experts on Jewish law as it pertains to sensitive topics like the body, fertility and sexuality. The Israeli institute Matan also has a five-year program in which women study Jewish law at the highest levels.
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