When we walk into the sanctuary of any synagogue, the first sights we most likely see are the aron hakodesh, the eternal lamp, and every man in the congregation wearing a tallit, the ritual prayer shawl worn during weekday and Shabbat morning services. Now, we might also see women wearing the tallit, too. In more recent years, women in synagogue have begun to wear the tallit as a movement towards egalitarianism, taking religious practice into their own hands and projecting a personal style to boot. In this paper, we will explore the critical concerns surrounding the tallit’s male-dominated origins, the move by women to wear the tallit on practical and symbolic levels, and the tallit as a method of personal expression.
The Origins of the Tallit
Based on the sea of tallitot we observe on men and women’s shoulders in synagogue, we might think that the tallit has Biblical roots. Understanding where the tallit, and the commandment to wear it, come from, however, requires both closer analytical and physical examination. The actual commandment is to wear tzitzit, or fringes, on the corners of our garments:
Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them throughout their generations fringes in the corners of their garments, and that they put with the fringe of each corner a thread of blue. (Numbers 15:38)
This passage, which also appears in the blessings of the Shema, commands the wearing of tzitzit as a reminder to fulfill the mitzvoth and commandments in
Middle-Eastern and North African clothing culture is distinguished from other cultures by the veil, a clothing that provokes many reactions from authors and debates between the Western and Eastern people.
The second great force at the turn of the century is itself global: the emergence of women in the public sphere, including the public face of religion. This is in part a function of women's growing economic and political power, but also a result of religion itself coming into the public sphere in new ways. Many aspects of religion have long been considered private and relegated largely to the context of home and family, where women have often been the primary practitioners, though men might dominate in institutional leadership positions. As both religion and women move out of the private into the public sphere, new challenges arise. For example, central facets of family and home particularly love and sex which have more traditionally been the purview of women and of religion have entered the realm
The white garment symbolizes the white garments Jesus wore when he was placed in the tomb after his death on Good Friday. An infant may wear a baptismal gown handed down for generations; an adult typically puts on a full-length white gown known as an alb’. (Gospel way, online, 2014) However, Jew’s believe in idea of Adulthood. Rather than initiating an infant, they wait for the boy or girl to become an adult in the eyes of the Jewish law. The religious ceremony of a boy's Bar Mitzvah is held in the synagogue. Many guests are invited, this includes important people of the Jewish community. “The child is given a special prayer shawl called a Tallit. When the child wears one at their Bar Mitzvah, it is a visual representation of their new status as an adult.” (Tracey. R. Rich, Bar Mitzvah, online, 2011) The child carries the Torah to the podium, they are called to read or chat from the Torah (the Torah is the Jewish holy scrolls and is written in Hebrew). Usually only adults are allowed to read from the Torah in the synagogue, but since the Bar Mitzvah symbolises the child's coming-of-age in the Jewish culture, he is seen as a grown adult and is able to read the torah in
Rituals marked important sites for the creation of gender identity. Ritual activities provided the stage settings for women and men to carry out socially appropriate behaviors marking key points along the moving edge of their life course. In the process, rituals posited a set of gender expectations that were complicated by the realities of everyday life, for ritual practices embodying definitions of masculinity and femininity were alive to other variables such as age, class, personal circumstances, or changing political relationships. Men and women constructed both each other’s honor and gender identity by means of a complicated ‘network of oppositions and dependencies’. Shows a view of gender constructs alongside the practical relationships and tasks that bound men and women together.
Something that I found symbolically important was that the number of stitches in the robe was the
The Menominee, a group of Native Americans, currently reside in Wisconsin, which has always been their home. Beginning in 1667, the French send missionaries to educate the tribe, as well as fur traders to trade with them. Later, the Menominee also began trading with Britain. During wars between Britain, its colonies, or Native American tribes, and the French, the Menominee sided with the French. During the American Revolution, the Menominee decided to fight with the British because they didn’t want to lose their land to the Colonists. However, after the British lost the war, the Menominee eventually made peace with the Americans in 1817. Through a series of treaties, the Menominee lost land to the government and other Native American tribes.
Throughout history, women have been victims of oppression no matter what religion or background they come from. They have learned from a young age, that their appearance is important to fundamentally be happy in their life. The topic of oppression in woman leads to controversial discussion not only to scholars but women of all parts of the world. How a woman presents herself through appearance and clothing targets her in a society obsessed with each other’s business. In today’s society, whether we can help it or not, men are treated differently than women. There seems to be different “rules” associated with the acceptable ways they should dress as opposed to the strict rules that apply to women. Women who are westernized
Pg. 15 - Resources, landscape, and climate influenced the development of Native American societies by allowing them to have trade surpluses and specialize in certain goods. Landscape also affected what animals could be raised in that area.
Many studies about Jehovah Witnesses state that they are the strictest religion out there. They have rules that should be followed or the person ends up condemned. They do not believe in other religions whatsoever, in any shape or form. Jehovah Witnesses God’s name to them is Jehovah. The sociological concepts discussed will be social class and norms, a function and a dysfunction of Jehovah Witness religion, a symbolic ritual, and an aspect of this religion that entails conflict.
In an article entitled Sandra Lawson, black lesbian vegan rabbinical student, hopes to refine where Judaism happens, we are introduced to a nontraditional Jewish person who preaches in a nontraditional manner. For Lawson, a neighborhood bar is a perfect location to perform a Jewish service or pray for those in need. In addition to breaking down many barriers such as being a black, lesbian, and a future rabbi, Lawson stated she is “eager to take Jewish practice outside the traditional bounds of the synagogue”.
This correlates exactly to WOW’s involvement at the Kotel. These women are taking their own faith in their own hands and attempting to get closer to God. In the video, “Praying in Her Own Voice: Women of the Wall,” Rabbi Lauren Geller emphasizes that the
In the Orthodox Jewish tradition women are required to dress in modest skirts or dresses, where their legs, necks, and elbows cannot be seen in public. For that reason, they are expected to wear sleeves at least to the elbow, blouses or dresses with necklines that do not expose any cleavage and skirts that cover the knees when seated. This is not because a women’s body is sinful but rather that men are weak, and if they would see too much of a women’s skin it would arouse desires and distract them (Women in North America Judaism). It is also consider immodest for married women to have uncovered hair in front of men other than her husband, not because women’s hair is considered something evil, but that is considered a beautiful thing and should be shown only to a husband that women loves. Also, covering their hair is a part of “tzniut”, a spiritual path of modesty and
During mass, Christian Priest’s wear a number of different items of clothing. The amice is a rectangular piece of white material. It is worn around the neck and on top of the clerical collar. The spiritual symbolism of this adornment lies within the bible; more specifically in Ephesians. Chapter six verse 17 says, “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, the word of God.” This quote is St. Paul’s’ admonition, and the amice is a representation of this quote, used to remind Priests of this. A prayer is often said when putting on the garment; “Place, O Lord, the helmet of salvation on my head to resist the attacks of the devil." This prayer is used as the amice was, in previous years, worn on the head of the priest as a symbol
Although society’s roles for women have changed, true Jewish beliefs have not changed much for the roles of women. Therefore, the role of the Jewish women is not easily defined. Each woman develops herself according with the general parameters of the Jewish
My paper studies the three most significant and most commonly known western religion Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in terms of the role that the woman played and a brief synopsis of the religions itself. Religion is a system of human though which usually includes a set of narratives, symbols, beliefs and practices that give meaning to the practitioner’s experiences of life through reference to a higher power, deity, or ultimate truth. Judaism, Islam, and Christianity are the only religions that are based on a single creator and that are why they are called western religions. These three religions are monotheistic faiths practiced by about half of the world’s population. Believers of the three religions are found on every continent