Not enough has been done to integrate the value of equal rights for women into Jewish religious life and teaching. On the one hand, traditional Judaism (both in its sources and by its spokesmen) differentiates between the status of man and woman, without seriously taking into consideration the feeling of the latter, and without respecting her human rights. On the other hand, Jewish Feminism starts from modern individual or group feelings of frustration, without taking God seriously, with little understanding for the spirituality of Bible and tradition and with recklessness regarding the preservation of the Jewish family and people. There is obviously a need for dialogue between biblical rabbinical theology and Jewish Feminism, each taking the other seriously and relating to the other’s concerns. Only such a dialogue can restore a viable Torah Judaism for both sexes. Without the dialogue with feminists, traditional Jewish law is destined to fall away from a viable Torah, becoming an androcentric Judaism violating its principles of justice and complementarity.
