I received a Facebook invitation to a “Feminist Seder” today. It’s being run by people I know and like, yet I’m highly suspicious. There is minimal, it seems, actualy involvement of real life Jews in planning this thing, which only compounds by skepticism.
If I go, I’ll probably be upset the whole time.
On the other hand, if I go, I’ll probably get a real humdinger of a blog post out of it.
2 Comments
April 20, 2009 at 4:48 pm
My congregation had a first-ever men’s seder, the Sunday of chol hamoed. Pre-assigned presenters provided brief discussion starters on elements of the maggid, which the group then discussed. After dinner, more general discussion on what it means to be a Jewish man today, as father, son, husband, etc., how the change in women’s roles has marginalized men in the synagogue, etc. Participants ranged in age from probably low thirties to high seventies. I enjoyed it thoroughly — whether it will lead anywhere remains to be seen.
I find it interesting that you were invited to a feminist seder — militant feminists want the right to be gender-segregated, but don’t like it when men are gender-segregated.
April 20, 2009 at 6:27 pm
I’m okay with Jewish men or Jewish women getting together to talk about being Jewish women and Jewish men in the forum of a seder.
But I’m very uneasy about non-Jewish women getting together to discuss being women in the context of a seder.