Tamar Ross | Bar-Ilan University (original) (raw)
Videos by Tamar Ross
Tamar Ross, “Video: Panel: The State of Contemporary Orthodoxy (Part 2)”
17 views
Tamar Ross, “How Does Feminism Change the Study of Jewish Thought?” at The Public Annual M.G. Lev... more Tamar Ross, “How Does Feminism Change the Study of Jewish Thought?” at The Public Annual M.G. Levin Lecture in Jewish Thought at Bar-Ilan University (November 21, 2021)
192 views
original location (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukJEW51mwJg)
8 views
Tamar Ross, “Video: Does Revelation Progress?” Valley Beit Midrash (September 2016)
13 views
Tamar Ross, “Video: Religious Women in a Postmodern Age”
21 views
Tamar Ross, “Video: Jewish Education: Continuity for Creativity,” Educating for Jewish Loyalty an... more Tamar Ross, “Video: Jewish Education: Continuity for Creativity,” Educating for Jewish Loyalty and Commitment in the 21st Century (2015)
4 views
Rabbi David Wolkenfeld in a series on Jewish thought
7 views
Panel discussion with Rabbis Yitz Greenberg and Herzl Hefter, moderated by Elliot Melamet
36 views
Tamar Ross, “Video: The Allegorical Interpretation of Tzimtzum”
10 views
Tamar Ross and James Kugel, “Video: Q & A from the Audience”
10 views
Tamar Ross, “Video: Jewish Thought & Jewish Thinkers” (25 May 2017)
5 views
Tamar Ross, “Video: Conversation with Professor Yeshayahu Leibowitz,” (30 May 1993)
10 views
Tamar Ross, “Video: LGBTQ and the Future of Judaism” (14 September 2018)
36 views
Interview on biblical themes in Parshat Yitro
4 views
Tamar Ross, “Video: The Impact of Feminism on Orthodox Theology,” (23 May 2013)
6 views
THE CHALLENGE OF FEMINISM TO JEWISH THEOLOGY
11 views
Articles & Reviews by Tamar Ross
Despite the academic venue, I prefer to offer my remarks today in a more personal vein. As a chil... more Despite the academic venue, I prefer to offer my remarks today in a more personal vein. As a child born to Orthodox Jewish parents, God from the outset figured prominently in my daily life. In my early years, He felt somewhat like my father, only more so-a benign but also authoritative figure who expected me to strive to be as good a person as I possibly could. I do recall that around the age of eight I sometimes prayed that He would provide me with some tangible hint of His existence, send me a vision of a red thread dangling from the sky or something of the sort. But for the most part, trust in my religious way of life and belief system was natural, part of the air I breathed and took for granted, without much questioning. Waking up every morning and reciting the standard morning prayer of thanks to God for having faithfully returned my soul to me was a natural corollary of my Jewish identity. Performing mitzvot, the established religious norms of the past, was simply what Jews do. Beyond this, as a youngster attending public school in North America, the fact that I was Jewish, and even Orthodox, was also very much attached to the idea of borders, the notion that I differed from my surroundings, was part of a special people, and that God and truth were somehow on my side.
Selected Presentations from: Jewish Education - continuity for creativity conference in memory of Prof. Michael Rosenak, 2016
Tamar Ross, “Video: Panel: The State of Contemporary Orthodoxy (Part 2)”
17 views
Tamar Ross, “How Does Feminism Change the Study of Jewish Thought?” at The Public Annual M.G. Lev... more Tamar Ross, “How Does Feminism Change the Study of Jewish Thought?” at The Public Annual M.G. Levin Lecture in Jewish Thought at Bar-Ilan University (November 21, 2021)
192 views
original location (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukJEW51mwJg)
8 views
Tamar Ross, “Video: Does Revelation Progress?” Valley Beit Midrash (September 2016)
13 views
Tamar Ross, “Video: Religious Women in a Postmodern Age”
21 views
Tamar Ross, “Video: Jewish Education: Continuity for Creativity,” Educating for Jewish Loyalty an... more Tamar Ross, “Video: Jewish Education: Continuity for Creativity,” Educating for Jewish Loyalty and Commitment in the 21st Century (2015)
4 views
Rabbi David Wolkenfeld in a series on Jewish thought
7 views
Panel discussion with Rabbis Yitz Greenberg and Herzl Hefter, moderated by Elliot Melamet
36 views
Tamar Ross, “Video: The Allegorical Interpretation of Tzimtzum”
10 views
Tamar Ross and James Kugel, “Video: Q & A from the Audience”
10 views
Tamar Ross, “Video: Jewish Thought & Jewish Thinkers” (25 May 2017)
5 views
Tamar Ross, “Video: Conversation with Professor Yeshayahu Leibowitz,” (30 May 1993)
10 views
Tamar Ross, “Video: LGBTQ and the Future of Judaism” (14 September 2018)
36 views
Interview on biblical themes in Parshat Yitro
4 views
Tamar Ross, “Video: The Impact of Feminism on Orthodox Theology,” (23 May 2013)
6 views
THE CHALLENGE OF FEMINISM TO JEWISH THEOLOGY
11 views
Despite the academic venue, I prefer to offer my remarks today in a more personal vein. As a chil... more Despite the academic venue, I prefer to offer my remarks today in a more personal vein. As a child born to Orthodox Jewish parents, God from the outset figured prominently in my daily life. In my early years, He felt somewhat like my father, only more so-a benign but also authoritative figure who expected me to strive to be as good a person as I possibly could. I do recall that around the age of eight I sometimes prayed that He would provide me with some tangible hint of His existence, send me a vision of a red thread dangling from the sky or something of the sort. But for the most part, trust in my religious way of life and belief system was natural, part of the air I breathed and took for granted, without much questioning. Waking up every morning and reciting the standard morning prayer of thanks to God for having faithfully returned my soul to me was a natural corollary of my Jewish identity. Performing mitzvot, the established religious norms of the past, was simply what Jews do. Beyond this, as a youngster attending public school in North America, the fact that I was Jewish, and even Orthodox, was also very much attached to the idea of borders, the notion that I differed from my surroundings, was part of a special people, and that God and truth were somehow on my side.
Selected Presentations from: Jewish Education - continuity for creativity conference in memory of Prof. Michael Rosenak, 2016
An attempt to clarify my theology of revelation as against the more conservative approach adopted... more An attempt to clarify my theology of revelation as against the more conservative approach adopted by Yoram Hazony, and more liberal versions of "progressive revelation".
Feminism Changes the Study of Jewish Thought Will belief in the divinity of Torah ever be reconci... more Feminism Changes the Study of Jewish Thought Will belief in the divinity of Torah ever be reconciled with the role of women in contemporary religious life?
Epilogue to the Second Edition N early two decades have passed since this book first appeared in ... more Epilogue to the Second Edition N early two decades have passed since this book first appeared in 2004. The publication of this new edition invites revisiting what was formerly its final chapter ("Visions for the Future"), taking stock of what has transpired in the interim and reconsidering the extent to which my earlier assumptions regarding the path and destiny of halakhic feminism still hold true. Accomplishments The first thing to be said is that the role and halakhic status of women continues to be one of the most profound challenges confronting traditional Judaism. Perhaps for this reason, halakhic feminists themselves and their sympathizers, eager to evaluate current achievements and assess what still remains to be done, have engaged in an inordinate amount of "temperature taking" over the past several years. 1 My own report may appear unduly focused on the Israeli case, not coincidentally. Two factors contribute to this bias. First, of course, I am in Israel. Secondly, I believe that my original prognosis 2 has been borne out: the cultural powerhouse of halakic feminism, despite its Western political roots, is now here. 3 Immediate practical objectives Agunot and get refusal. There is no denying that Orthodox feminism has made great strides in accommodating the changing interests and sensibilities of halakhically committed women in today's world. The thorniest and most vexing problem in the eyes of many activists remains the plight of agunot. 4 Despite the dedicated work of agunah organizations such as ORA (Organization for the Resolution of Agunot) in the United States and Mavoi Satum, Yad La'i-sha, and the Center for Women's Justice in Israel, and despite mea
Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook [R. Kook] (1865[R. Kook] ( -1935 is arguably the most audacious, origina... more Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook [R. Kook] (1865[R. Kook] ( -1935 is arguably the most audacious, original, and profound thinker emerging from the ranks of Orthodox Judaism in the modern period. 1 His personal charisma, gentle piety, and intellectual prowess already achieved acclaim during his youth and the earlier years of his rabbinic career in Lithuania. During this time, he composed several legal and moral treatises, commentaries, and sermons, and contributed articles to rabbinic journals that occasionally engaged in the confrontation between traditionalism, influences of the Enlightenment, and nascent Zionist efforts toward national revival. However, the catalyst for the unique body of thought with which he is now predominantly associated was his decision to immigrate to Palestine in 1904, first accepting the position of religious authority of Jaffa and the surrounding Jewish settlements, and subsequently serving as Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Jerusalem and of all of British mandatory Palestine. These years were marked by an extraordinary flourishing of the spirit as evidenced in his spiritual diaries, which bear witness to an intensely rich inner life, suffused with a palpable sense of holiness and occasional mystic/prophetic experience, intensified even further during an intermittent period of exile in Europe where he was unexpectedly stranded due to the eruption of World War I.
was born in the United States in 1938 and has lived in Israel since her twenties. She received he... more was born in the United States in 1938 and has lived in Israel since her twenties. She received her degrees, including her doctorate, from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her teaching at Bar-Ilan University, at Midreshet Lindenbaum, and in a variety of academic and nonacademic settings, along with her writing, has earned her a prominent position in the discourse of Orthodox feminism both in Israel and in North America.
T he challenges that biblical criticism and the atrocities of the Holocaust pose, respectively, t... more T he challenges that biblical criticism and the atrocities of the Holocaust pose, respectively, to traditional notions of revelation and theodicy are arguably the two greatest obstacles of our age to commonly accepted notions of Orthodox Jewish belief. Both involve the confrontation of metaphysical assertions with contrary empiric evidence of such scope or magnitude that all the usual tactics of religious apologetics appear inadequate. In the following essay, I would like to point to certain commonalities between an approach that I have been developing to the first issue and the response that Greenberg has been developing with regard to the second. I will then propose that some shortcomings in Greenberg's position (which he himself acknowledges) might be overcome if he were to adopt the implications of this parallelism in full.
My connection with Blu Greenberg spans four generations. As a child, I often heard her maiden nam... more My connection with Blu Greenberg spans four generations. As a child, I often heard her maiden name (Genauer) mentioned in my home with great fondness. This stemmed from a long-term friendship between our parents that began in the years that her father and mine had shared as students in the Yeshiva of R. Yitzhak Elchanan (which later morphed into Yeshiva University) and continued during my father's temporary stint as a teacher at the local Talmud Torah of Seattle, the Genauers' hometown. Two years ago, this connection resurfaced in unexpected fashion when I discovered that my 7-year-old granddaughter (Nogah Ross) and Blu's (Maayan Greenberg) are classmates in the same primary school in Jerusalem and have developed a similar relationship, totally unaware of the background family history. In between these generational ties, Blu and I have only had a few opportunities for direct personal interaction, and the paths of our own children have never really crossed. Nevertheless, it feels like the span of these sporadic points of contact, when taken in its entirety, represents in some way the saga of Modern Orthodoxy and its feminist offshoots.
![Research paper thumbnail of Tamar Ross, “Review of ‘Kookism’, by Gideon Aran,” in Eli Lederhendler, ed., A Club of Their Own: Jewish Humorists and the Contemporary World [=Contemporary Jewry, vol. 29 (2016)] (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016), 301-304](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/59790115/thumbnails/1.jpg)
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