Simchat Torah

Simchat Torah

The Artscroll Machzor (prayer book) for Sukkot gives the following introduction to the holiday of Simchat Torah:

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Everyone’s Celebration

Simchas Torah is not just for scholars. Every Jewish male, even young children, receives an aliyah to the Torah and the privilege of singing and dancing with it. Just as the Torah reading of the morning is repeated over and over until everyone has an aliyah, the Hakafos are extended until everyone has been able to express his love and joy at being able to hold the Torah, possess it, study it, observe it.

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Sounds pretty darn good, doesn’t it? It certainly would be if Artscroll (and many others) were willing to acknowledge that “everyone” does not include women.

There is no question in my mind that Orthodox Judaism is the path for me (with sprinklings and the spirit here and there of the Jewish renewal movement as long as it doesn’t interfere with Jewish law). And although it may seem counterintuitive to my non-observant friends, I’m really okay with such different roles in the synagogue between men and women for several reasons:

The first is that I choose to trust the Torah and the law to have a good reason for the differences whether or not I understand them.

Second, while I can’t prove it, I have seen evidence that when people choose to have egalitarian services, men often unfortunately become less interested in fulfilling their responsibilities in shul. So my assumption is that perhaps G-d’s secret reason for setting things up in this way is to keep men accountable. (Women already take on double-duty between work and home, especially in this generation.)

However, as I mentioned (and which Soferet echoes) in Hoshanah a lot happens in the holidays in this time of year that leaves women just standing by and watching. As always, this would be okay with me except for a number of things:

1. Declarations like the one quoted above about how wonderful that this holiday is for absolutely EVERYONE (oh, except women) which includes even children receiving an aliyah while women don’t are simply hypocritical and ignorant.

2. The fact that so many men just don’t understand why this is problematic. In one shul where I used to go, a man once said to me, “But why would you WANT to dance with a Torah? You’re religious?” What a paradoxical thing to say! If a woman is religious, it means she values the Torah. So why then wouldn’t she want to take part in celebrating it? (I find myself pounding the keyboard hard as I write this. I’ve become much less ANGRY over the years, but that absolutely ignorant notion still just infuriates me.) I could accept that this is the way it is if the people on the other side of the mechitzah at least would acknowledge that it might be difficult for some women. And by the way, I accept that for many women, Simchat Torah is NOT a challenge. I fully accept that others might be much more comfortable than I am with having a smaller (or different) role in shul, as long as I can be heard for my own opinion.

3. Finally, with lots of mitzvoth to which women are not obligated the attitude is, “Why would you want to if you don’t have to?” I’ve heard this in particular around the mitzvah of sitting in the Sukkah at Sukkot. When men say this, are they really saying that they hate doing all mitzvoth and only do so out of a sense of obligation? Yes, there is merit in doing something DESPITE not wanting to do it. But isn’t there obviously merit in WANTING to do a mitzvah whether or not you have to?

So, in short, in the past 6 or more years (the time during which I’ve been living in communities of my choice as an adult, post-college etc.) I have been very unhappy on every Simchat Torah but the last two. (I admit that as long as SOME good dancing is happening on the women’s side during Hakafot I usually have a pretty good/spiritual time, but once we get back in to actually read the Torah I become quite bitter and angry… not a nice feeling for one of the most joyous chagim of the year.)

Last year was good because we had a women’s reading in Vancouver.
This year we had one here.

Now, it was a controversial thing. I had heard wind of it weeks ago and assumed something would be announced. But it wasn’t until yesterday when the husband of one of organizers cautiously approached me and asked if I knew about the service that I actually learned about the details. The man who told me was very quiet when he came to me, like this was a bootleg operation. Apparently a number of people in the shul were not happy about the development of a women’s reading, but to their, and the shul’s, credit, this dissatisfaction was kept rather quiet, at least from what I could see as a relative newcomer.

The service was an enormous success. The planners carefully consulted the rabbi ahead of time to know what brachot were and were not appropriate, how to do the service etc. Many women had the opportunity to read from the Torah, and everyone had the chance to have an aliyah. (To approach the Torah as part of the regular reading.) I think there were about 30 women who participated, and probably half of them had daughters with them. It was quite moving.

The funny thing that always happens for me at these events is that I became very very conscious of our (the women’s) behavior near the Torah. It’s so important to me that nothing we do at all shames the Torah. I find at these times that I’m worried how the Torah, almost as a being, views us. I feel we have to work double to be approved of by IT. But when men are called to the Torah, all that matters is that they are Jewish. They could be violating Shabbos and it would make no difference. So this self-consciousness is really just some kind of shame I’ve unfortunately learned as a bi-product of this way of separating the sexes. It’s unfortunate and I hope other women don’t feel that the way I do. Please, as always, feel free to comment on this.

Either way, it’s worth it to me to face that challenge rather than abandon Halakhah or Orthodoxy and defect to an egalitarian minyan. I just wish more communities were willing to allow the possible for women within them.