I stand second to no one in my opposition to the erasure of women now taking place in the mainstream Charedi world. I can’t even begin to count the number of times I have expressed outrage at this phenomenon. A phenomenon that a few short decades ago didn’t exist even in the most right wing circles of the Charedi world (other than among certain Chasidic groups).
Pictures of women could regularly be found on the cover of the now defunct Agudah magazine, the Jewish Observer. Pictures of the wives of Gedolei HaDor were occasionally published in the Jewish Press without objection by their husbands. These are undisputed facts. A practice that now seems to have gone the way of the dodo bird.
One of the strongest voices protesting this phenomenon is Shoshana Keats Jaskoll and her organization, Chochmat Nashim. I completely agree with her arguments about why the erasure of women dishonors women and sends a terrible message to our children in a variety of ways. I have made many of the same arguments myself
But sometimes one can go too far in this regard. Even if it is for the right reasons. I believe this is the case in her recent complaint about OU publishing practices with respect to women. Sometimes the benefits that might be gained by strict adherence to an ideal will do more harm than good
In her Times of Israel blog post, Shoshana felt compelled to criticize the OU for refusing of late to publish pictures of women in ads on the back cover of Torah Tidbits - a magazine consisting of Divrei Torah written by both men and women. Which is widely distributed in Israel. Ads on the back cover featuring pictures of men continued to be published.
When she confronted the OU about this, they explained that they stopped publishing women’s pictures because Torah Tidbits was distributed in Shuls and there were complaints that magazines lying around in Shuls were in some cases distracting men from properly concentrating on their prayers. Shoshana correctly pointed out the basic unfairness in censoring only women on those back covers and the OU agreed to stop publishing pictures of men as well.
I saw that as an ideal compromise. Men and women are treated equally while at the same time satisfying the concerns of people who are distracted by pictures of women lying around on tables in a Shul. (It should be noted that the OU does not censor pictures of women in the actual content and are prominently featured where appropriate. Same as men.)
Shoshana agreed that it was an equitable solution but indicated she would have preferred that neither sex be erased. For me that sounds a bit like disregarding the needs of one side in order to advance your own side.
Be that as it may she then said something that I could not agree with at all. She pulled out her feminism card and complained that there were not enough women represented in the actual content of the magazine. In explanation of this imbalance the OU said the following:
(The) OU in NY explained to us that they were aiming for 30% of the columns to be written by women, but that, since they prefer writers from within the ranks of the OU (a largely male rabbinic organization), it is difficult to find appropriate female writers…
In the meantime, Chochmat Nashim had reached out to accomplished female writers and 7 of them said they would be interested in publishing their Divrei Torah there.
The OU took them up on it and even added a new weekly column by a woman. But they never reached their goal of 30%:
(Women) continue to be underrepresented in divrei Torah, with the average being 78% men and 22% women.
This was upsetting to Shoshana and this is where I part company with her. Once quotas become part of the conversation, I’m out. I do not believe in affirmative action (Now know as DEI - Diversity, Equity, Inclusion.) Not when it comes to college admissions. Not when it comes to Divrei Torah.
The point of a weekly magazine filled with Divrei Torah should be to present the best Divrei Torah one can find. Regardless of which sex submitted it. Giving women equal space with men should only happen when their Divrei Torah are of equal value. In theory the content of Torah Tidbits could be submitted entirely by men or entirely by women. It is only the content that should matter.
If it were up to me, I would tell the editors to read each Dvar Torah submitted without knowing who the author is. And then, select the best ones for the magazine. The publisher would then add the authors names at the time of publication.
I am so tired of the identity politics. Because that places identity over quality. Which is a prescription for mediocrity at best.