Henriette Dahan Kalev

This paper is searching for connections between Canon, tradition and gender. On the theoretical aspects I will examine alternative constructs offered by feminist thought, by following ideological attempts to contest androcentric traditions. What would be effective feminist strategies when trying to transform androcentric constraints of Jewish women’s lives. On the practical part of this paper I will analyse two cases of religious feminism in Israel, which challenge patriarchal Canon and tradition authorities from within the orthodox establishment. The case studies I discuss focus on feminist agenda of modern orthodox women, exclusively of Ashkenazi origin (of East European countries of origin) and Mizrahi orthodox (of Jewish Sephardic origin). Although Halacha and Jewish tradition are very difficult to separate, what the Ashkenazi modern orthodox women contest is rather the Halacha Canon than the Jewish tradition. The second case study, that of the Mizrahi [Sephardic] orthodox women, I call the feminist of “Returning the throne to its glorious golden days” - a slogan the political movement of Shas, which will be briefly introduced, has coined. My argument is that the differences between these two categories are political. One has to do with transforming the spiritual leadership to include women amongst it, while the other holds a more socialist agenda leading to socio-economic reforms in the Jewish spirit. The methodological approach of this study is of gender critique literature.