The first thing that should be noted in Judaism is that all interpretations of the Torah and Talmud, including women's roles have been made by men. Since women were not given the chance to study or interpret their religion, all of the authority has been placed in the hands of men. As a result many women feel that men, as the dominant sex, have interpreted the religion in their favor, placing women with unequal, subordinate roles (Wolf).

The unequal relationship between the two sex's, becomes obvious when we look at a few of the Jewish laws such as, divorce, and the constant reference to God as the masculine pronoun "he" (Koltun 4). One of the first unequal relationships that we can look at begins with the creation of man. The book of Genesis contains a passage which states that, God created man first and then the woman second, out of the male's

The gathering of a minyan is the most essential part of the prayer during a synagogue service, and it requires a group of ten people in order to say the prayer. Since women are viewed only as private persons, if they joined together to form a minyan, it will not result in a public union of prayer, but rather ten individuals praying. While this would not be considered a minyan, ten men whom are public figures will be able to form a minyan as a public unit (Biale 22), and lead the congregation in prayer, which is seen as one of the greatest honors for a man.

sh law. The two cases for divorce mentioned above, are clearly biased in favor of the husband. In these cases the wife does not need to agree with the divorce, she is merely a silent participant in the settlement of the divorce, and may end up being divorced against her will (Biale 100).

Although women are required to pray according to Jewish law, they are meant to do it privately, or in the house. This is due to the fact that prayer, mainly the shema, (the prayer recited every morning, afternoon and evening,) (Biale 18) falls under the category of mitzvot (a ritual or ethical duty or act of obedience to God's will pl.) which, is time-bound and therefore requires a woman to pray at certain pre-set times. Due to the interference of these time consuming mitzvot with the suggested domestic role of females as child bearers and housekeepers (Biale 13), women have been exempt from the social and public part of Judaism. The fact that women are seen as private and not public figures, has excluded them from the normative religious life and congregation that men participate in, and can be seen as the root of inequality that stems into many of the issues that will be covered in this paper.

rib (Genesis 1:2). This can suggest some sort of hierarchy, where the male sex in God's eyes, is superior to the female sex (Koltun 222-225). Although there is another interpretation of the creation of mankind, where both the male and female are created equal in the image of the Creator, (Genesis 1:1) some feminist point the finger at the male's rib interpretation, to express the inequality within Judaism.

When a woman is not living the married life, and is unable to remarry, she will be known as what is called "anchored", or in Hebrew agunah (Biale 103). There are several reasons that force women to become agunot (plural form of agunah). One is if the husband deserts his wife, another is if he dies, and there is no valid testimony for his death, and the third is if the woman wants a divorce but the husband refuses to grant her a get (Biale 102). Women, who are forced into being agunot, have severe difficulties with changing their status, and their reputations are often blemished, making it very difficult to get back into the main stream of life.

covers such a wide spectrum of degrees and is based on the Halachah, therefore it would prove almost impossible to change such momentous legislation because of the traditional laws of Jews throughout thousands of years (Biale 112-3). The Orthodox argue, that because the previous generations in their communities did not succumb to modernization, neither should they. They are worshippers of the past and fully believe that nothing should be changed (Blau).

Since women are seen as private and not public figures, and therefore not meant to study or derive wisdom from the Torah; nor are they supposed to recite or participate in communal prayers, they are not given equal opportunities to connect with God. According to Orthodox Judaism, women are compensated for this lack of connection with God, by bearing and raising children, as well as being the caretakers of the household (Koltun 106-107). The spiritual and emotional connections felt with God through childbirth and the raising of the children, is considered to be one of the most sacred religious duties to be fulfilled by women (Callister). We can see how this view of the Jewish

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