What is the Woman's place in the Synagogue?

WOMEN'S PLACE IS IN THE SYNAGOGUE

An Orthodox synagogue is probably the last place where women can be expected to buck tradition.

But at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, a prayer group of about 150 women gathers every month, learning Torah chants and performing services that for centuries have been the exclusive domain of men.

"There are some people that have the point of view that it was never done, so it should never be done," said Joyce Marcus, a member of the executive board of the Women's Tefillah of Riverdale. "But according to the Jewish law, the Halakhah, there is nothing wrong with it at all."

Rabbi Avi Weiss, the outspoken leader of the Hebrew Institute, has written that the participation of women in prayer groups learning the Torah and teaching the chanting known as layn is permissible under Orthodox Jewish law.

"When a woman is of an Orthodox synagogue," said Marcus, "she's not allowed to go and read from the Torah. This group now enables us to better understand prayer and the study of Torah much more than women have traditionally."

While Sabbath services are conducted in the main sanctuary, Marcus said, women from synagogues across Riverdale gather in a separate room.

"Not every rabbi agrees with what we are doing, though a lot of them are coming around now," said Marcus, who has been a member of the Women's Tefillah since it was founded in 1979 by Miriam Schacter and other members of Weiss' synagogue.

"We met first in people's homes," she said. "Then Rabbi Weiss gave us a separate room in the shul [synagogue]. It's a unique opportunity for us as women to meet the challenges of Jewish spiritual expression."

Ronnie Becher, president of the group, coordinates the monthly program with Batsheva Marcus who is not related to Joyce deciding who will read from the Torah and what will be taught.

The response to the Women's Tefillah has varied, Joyce Marcus said. At first, the men in the congregation were uncomfortable with it. But now they see it as a positive addition to the spiritual life of the congregation.

Joyce Marcus told how women from European countries would say initially that they were not in favor of it, until they hear a woman teach Torah and chant the layn.

"They can't get over how learned the women are," Joyce Marcus said. "Years ago, women did not have that kind of depth of knowledge about Torah. I dare say that now we know as much as the men."

Holidays also give the group a chance to shine, as when women read the megillah scrolls during the early spring holiday of Purim, or during Simchas Torah, when women come to get an aliyah, a ceremonial honor of being called to say a blessing before reading the Torah on the Sabbath.

Incidentally, men are not allowed in the Women's Tefillah.

"They have places of their own to go and learn how to pray," Joyce Marcus said. They are allowed in, however, during special occasions, such as bat mitzvahs, but they enter only after the Torah has been taken out of the ark.