Discussion Questions
- What was the role of Jewish women in traditional Judaism? Why aren't the women of Ezrat Nashim comfortable with these roles any more? What is their new reality?
- What tensions in the Conservative Movement does Ezrat Nashim identify? Are these tensions still present today?
- Ezrat Nashim states, "We've had enough of apologetics: enough of Bruria, Dvorah, and Esther, and enough of Eshet Chayil!" Who are these women? Why do you think Conservative Jewish women had had enough of these Jewish figures? In what ways has Judaism moved beyond these Jewish heroines? Who would you name as Jewish heroines for today's Judaism?
- What were Ezrat Nashim's demands? How many of these have come to pass? How do you think these demands changed what the Jewish community looks like today?
- What do you think Ezrat Nashim learned from the Civil Rights Movement and other liberation movements? What in this document makes you think that?
