Tag Archives: Feminism

How Sephardic Jews Shaped the World

In this class, we embark on a one-thousand year journey to uncover how Sephardic Jews transformed the world and played an instrumental role in major global movements, revolutionary scientific discoveries, and even the establishment of the United States of America!

We explore how Sephardic Jewish communities differ from Ashkenazi Jewish communities, and which unique trends and thoughts characterized Sephardic Judaism throughout history.

Please see also ‘What Does It Really Mean to be Sephardi?’

For the class about Feminism and Judaism that was referred to, see here.

On the Rambam and the Karaites, see here.

On the Donmeh and the Father of Modern Turkey, see here.

For more on the Zohar’s prophecy of Seven Continents, see here.

For more on the Zohar’s prophecy of the special year 1648, see here.

For short bios on the great figures discussed in this class:

Avraham bar Chiya haNasi
Ibn Ezra
Maimonides
Abraham Zacuto
Chaim Vital
Moshe Chaim Luzzatto
Yehuda Alkali
Moses Montefiore

Feminism & the Curses of Eve (Video)

What were the 39 curses decreed upon Adam, Eve, and the Serpent following the Forbidden Fruit in the Garden of Eden? What do the “curses of Eve” have to do with the status of women throughout history, and the feminist movement in modern times? And might certain aspects of feminism be part of a larger global transition prophesied long ago in the Tanakh and other ancient Jewish sources?

For a written summary and more information, see ‘Reversing the Curses of Eden’ in Garments of Light, Volume Two. (See also ‘Do Men Have More Mitzvot Than Women?’ in the same book.)

For a brief bio of Sarah Schenirer, see here.

For the class on ‘Soulmates in Judaism’, see here.

Greatest Women in Tanakh

In this week’s parasha, Pinchas, we read about the righteous daughters of Tzelofchad. Recall that the five daughters (Machlah, Noa, Haglah, Milkah, and Tirzah) had no male siblings, and their father had passed away, so they inquired about their inheritance. Are daughters allowed to inherit? It might sound like a straight-forward “yes”, but it was much more complicated in ancient Israel. Continue reading →