Jerusalem – Hundreds of religious and Orthodox men thronged to lectures on woman’s sexuality, fertility, menstruation and birth control in Jerusalem last week Wednesday in the “Innovations in Women’s Medicine“.
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All the lecturers were men while the women, who also came in the hundreds, had to sit behind a barrier in the ninth annual conference held by the Puha Institute, dedicated to women’s medical and halakhic issues.
The lectures dealt with such issues as whether to recommend cervical cancer vaccination for young women or to allow “older” single women in their mid-thirties to freeze eggs to preserve their chances of having children.
Conference organizer Rabbi Benjamin David said he was aware that having all male lecturers address such sensitive issues was drawing fire from religious circles.
“First, we don’t think that we are not sensitive,” he said. “These are very professional halakhic issues and the lecturers are first-rate experts. Second, it’s a matter of modesty. We are a very open institute but we have our limits and we don’t think it proper for a woman to stand on the stage and address 1,000 people.”
Separating between the genders at the conference as well as the intensive occupation with woman’s sexual issues indicate openness, not radicalization, he said.
“We put things on the table. It shows openness, contrary to the stigmas on the religious public,” he said.
One of the lectures turned his focus to whether to recommend the vaccine preventing cervical cancer to young women and teenage girls.
Ramat Gan Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, one of the leading religious Zionism rabbis, ruled against recommending the vaccine.
Why can’t the Rabbis grow up,and stop suppressing womens voices from being heard,would they have stopped Devorah haneviyah from speaking in public?why can’t women speak publicly about issues which primarily concern them,if done in a tactfull and appropriate manner?
Never ever in our glorious history were woman involved in deciding shalos and subjects eventough it was about them, so I don’t get the critic at all, beside that puah does not represend the real torah world
Devora Hanevia never spoke in public. she met with people one on one, and did so in a tzniusdik manner, out in the open, so that there was no chashash of yichud.
I feel If this discussion involved men then they should be doing this but such intricate and potentially embarrassing and sensitive topic should have been women to women with halachic ruling quoted.
Personally i think more harm can be acheived with this then good!!!!
The commentators here don’t seem to understand what this conference is about.
This was not story-time, with inspirational deroshos given by screaming or charming speakers with nothing of substance to say.
Rather, it is a very high level presentation of very, very complex topics.
To Charlie Hall:
Are you taking the “Women’s Lib” position that women should lecture to men on HalaChic matters?
I think all would agree that the Rambam was expert in even the most complex medical issues, yet he never studied medicine. He derived everything from the torah. Leading “experts” in any field are nothing without torah insight. Daas torah knows more. The rabbonim consult with the experts & integrate that information with halacha & hashkafa.
Let’s keep in mind that there are plenty of women’s nights, & kallah classes are always given by women. Such issues as these are decided only by the gedolim who spend hours daily over many decades studying the law to earn the right to pasken.
Let us get this straight. All the commentators from the peanut gallery obviously have no problem w/ fertility issues. If they would, they would know that you don’t want to have a “feel-good” conference — you want tachlis. Which this conference was. For the brilliant poster that fertility experts are women, check your references — that is not true! There are some, but the vast majority are men. There are very complex halachic questions in how procedures should be done, and therefore, you need Poskim, namely men. Women who want to be treated can’t care less that they are getting treated by Poskim and doctors. Why at a cancer symposium, where there are mothers and fathers of the patients, do they have male doctors? c’mon, are you all nuts?
how about a little positive energy and hakaros hatov.puah does very holy and necessary work.maybe some of us wouldn’t be so quick to critisize if we suffered with infertility and had children because of puah.
This story is an excellent demonstration why kids are going off the derech in record numbers. How offensive and deeply unhalachic to exclude women from speaking and actively participating at this conference. The power of the internet is enabling tens of thousands to realize, for the first time, that this isn’t about modesty or tradition, its powerful men desperate to preserve their authority at all costs.
Why do they have to force the women to listen to this? they should only go to the lecture if they want to!
To Charlie Hall:
Charlie, please examine your logic.–
You asset that you are not taking a “Women’s Lib” position, because women lecture to mixed groups of men and women at your Young Israel shul.
This is circular reasoning. Your shul is, itself, taking a women’s lib position by doing that. So, how can you use that as “proof” that it isn’t Women’s Lib to allow a woman to lecture to mixed groups.
Traditionally, this has always been considered a breach of Tznius in the Orthodox Jewish community. In Orthodox Judaism, woman should not place herself on display in front of men.
In the Orthodox newspapers Hamodea and Yated Neeman, there are no pictures of women. That is, because there are Rabbinical supervisors at those papers, who make sure that articles adhere to Orthodox Jewish guidelines.
i’m not sure i understand everyone problem – the angel came to abraham and asked “where is Sarah” and he replied “in the tent”. That’s where she belonged – women have always been held on a higher standard of tzniut. are you all disputing the words of the torah?