In September 1995, after more than 20 years of lecturing and writing on gender equality within Orthodox Judaism, Blu Greenberg gathered a small group of friends to plan a conference that would broadcast the idea of bridging Orthodox Judaism to feminism. Just as her thinking had been broadened by participating in dialogues and attending conferences on the subject, she hoped to raise the consciousness and change the thinking and perspective of the larger Orthodox Jewish community through the experience.
The first International Conference on Feminism and Orthodoxy was held in February 1997. It had such strong and enthusiastic attendance that the message was clear—Orthodox women and men felt the need to gather, discuss the issues, and network with like-minded individuals. The passion and energy to effect change that the conference engendered led to the founding of JOFA.
The first conference, co-sponsored by Drisha, AMIT, Edah and the Womens’ Tefilah Network, sought to explore the impact of feminist values on traditional Jewish women’s lives. By 2000, the conference focus shifted to exploring the impact of the women’s movement on contemporary Orthodoxy—a testament to the influence that feminism had on Orthodoxy in just three years.
Specific topics addressed at JOFA’s conferences have evolved over the last twelve years and included: Tradition and Reinterpretation; Rabbis and the halakhic rights of women; Women in halakhic language; Rabbis and change; The ethics of tzniut (modesty, rules of which are imposed disproportionately on women); Female voices in halakhic discourse; and examining the teshuvot (response) of Rav Moshe Feinstein and hashkafa (philosophy) of Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik for their implications for modern Orthodox feminism.
The Conference is the concrete embodiment of all that JOFA stands for. It is the vehicle through which JOFA was first conceived. It continues to serve as the centerpiece through which we strengthen, motivate and inspire our constituency and the broader Jewish community toward advancing the role of women in the Orthodox community.
