Lechu Neranena, Lower Merion’s partnership minyan, periodically holds programs involving scholars who speak about issues related to partnership minyanim as well as topics of general Jewish interest and on Dec.4 and 5, it will host Rabbi Ben Greenberg and his wife, Sharon Weiss-Greenberg, who will discuss pluralism and women in the Jewish community.
A local minyan is bringing the gift of discourse and insights to the area this Chanukah weekend.
Lechu Neranena, Lower Merion’s partnership minyan, periodically holds programs involving scholars who speak about issues related to partnership minyanim as well as topics of general Jewish interest and on Dec.4 and 5, it will host Rabbi Ben Greenberg and his wife, Sharon Weiss-Greenberg, who will discuss pluralism and women in the Jewish community.
Michael Gordan, president of the minyan and who helped plan the event, said their Shabbat programs provide congregants with a chance to learn and spend time together. It has previously hosted Rabbi Martin Lockshin, its halachic adviser, and Rabbi Lila Kagedan, a recent graduate of Yeshivat Maharat in New York City.
“The Weiss-Greenbergs were chosen as a couple active at the leading edge of liberal Orthodox causes to provide us with insight into the challenges and opportunities facing American Judaism today,” Gordan said.
According to Lechu Neranena’s website, it follows several prominent Orthodox rabbis who encourage women to take a more active role in the synagogue.
Weiss-Greenberg is the executive director of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA), director of recruitment for Yeshivat Maharat and director of online engagement for the Consortium for Applied Studies in Jewish Education.
She explained that because they have similar mindsets, she and her husband have always been supportive of each other and often bounce ideas off each other. Overall, Weiss-Greenberg said she has received tremendous positive feedback from colleagues and the Orthodox community.
On Dec. 5, she will speak about “Lessons Learned from the Next Generation: What Our Future Women Have to Say About Their Role in the Orthodox Community’s Future” at the home of minyan members Adam Dicker and Carolyn Hochstadter-Dicker in Merion Station.
“Some people say women don’t want to have a role,” Weiss-Greenberg said. “Women aren’t valued as much as they should be.” She told the Jewish Exponent there is nothing wrong with people disagreeing about women’s roles in the Jewish community, but it’s all about mutual respect.
“Depending on the community, it’s often been a boys’ club,” she added. “And there’s no reason for it. I think people that are educated, intelligent and thoughtful are happy to engage in intelligent conversation.”
Like many things in life, change is always difficult. People are not scared of the facts, but fear new things, she explained.
“Women are headed in the right direction,” Weiss-Greenberg said. “The community is primed and ready to move forward in a very positive way. The biggest threat to Orthodox feminism is apathy. If you really care, then you would want to matter. We try to educate people about what options are available.”
On Dec. 4, Rabbi Greenberg will talk about “The Possibilities and Limits of Jewish Pluralism: A Modern Orthodox Approach” at the home of Sharon Stampfer and Matthew Weitzman in Bala Cynwyd.
Greenberg serves as the chief strategist and consultant for Manhattan synagogues at the United Jewish Appeal-Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York and is on the board of the International Rabbinic Fellowship. What is viewed as Orthodox today is very different from the past, he said. Greenberg explained there is a blurring of the historical lines of what defined Orthodox communities 200 years ago.
“I personally believe that there are multiple ways to be an Orthodox Jew” he said.
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