When I joined EHRS, I had loved my previous job at Reform Judaism, working with communities up and down the country to develop their educational offerings for all ages and create meaningful Jewish engagement. But I had so missed being in community, and in particular, walking life’s journey with people. So this morning is for me such an amazing privilege to be a part of. These women have come together every fortnight for the last year, learning, sharing, and teaching one another, and in unique ways for each of them, finding their voices. And of course our journeying together began well before that, and I am grateful for all that each of you have taught me.
While Dinah was silent in Torah, and blamed for her treatment by the Rabbis of the midrash[1] , Ingrid, Natasha, Nicola and Sharon have all found their voices in different ways. They have also shared parts of themselves that emerged as a direct result of the story of Dinah. Dinah’s voice, in some ways, was heard in your voices, not only this morning, but on this journey we have walked together, over the last year, and in the years that came before too.
You all spoke so movingly about how you have found your voices and to be honest, I don’t want to add too much more to our already full service, but it struck me as too much of a coincidence not to mention a campaign that was launched this week, asking us to speak up for the Israeli women whose brutal violations have, it seemed, been ignored. Although last Shabbat was the Global day for Action on Violence against women, this very recent, very specific violence has not been mentioned by the UN. I do not wish to make Dinah’s of all of these women, who I hope have been given opportunities to share their voices, but it is impossible to ignore the silence of the world, paralleled with the silence of the Dinah in the telling of her story.
We know, in a post MeToo world just how widespread is the female experience of this kind of violence. When it comes to wars, the statistics are mind blowingly awful on the extent to which women’s bodies are abused. A group calling themselves UNWoman have begun a social media campaign trying to break the silence on attacks against Israeli women in this latest war. They are asking women to join their campaign by taking photos of themselves with their hands over their mouths, tagging the UN’s women campaign team. They are asking us to depict Dinah, and to amplify the voices of these Israeli women into the silence of the UN. Some have described it as Israel’s MeToo moment. I hope it has as much of an awakening effect on those ears who have so far not wanted to hear.
When we read stories such as Dinah’s, and even more so the Midrashim of Bereishit rabbah who blame her for her treatment, because she went visiting other women beyond the encampment, and because of how she dressed, we are appalled. But let us not forget how little has changed. Women are still questioned at trials on what they were wearing, why they were drinking, and so on. We can criticise the Judaism of the past, but sometimes we also have to realise it is shining a light on what is still wrong in our society. As Nachman of Breslov said, it is not our duty to complete the work, but neither can we desist from it. There is so much still to do, but I know that these incredible women, and so many of you who make our community the special place it is, are working each day to give voice to those who might be silenced, and I am so blessed to walk this journey with you all.
May we all be able to find our voices when it matters most, and may we be able to help lift up the voice of the oppressed when it counts. Cain Yehi Ratzon, may this be God’s will, venomar, Amen.
[1] Bereishit Rabbah 80: 1 and 5
