Tamar Ross
Encyclopedia
Tamar Ross is a professor of Jewish Philosophy
at Bar Ilan University.
She has scholarly expertise in the thought of Abraham Isaac Kook
, the modern Musar
movement and the ideology of Mitnaggedism, and Judaism and gender. She is the author of books and articles on Jewish ethics
and theology, contemporary issues in traditional Jewish thought, philosophy
of halakha
, and Orthodox Jewish feminism
.
As a Modern Orthodox Jewish feminist, Ross attempts to reconcile the idea of "Torah from Heaven" with what she perceives to be flaws in the viewpoint of Halakha and narrative, including both rules which she perceived as biased towards men, and narrative written from an exclusively male viewpoint. One approach she develops to address this problem is the idea of evolving revelation, that is, that we learn more as history evolves and societies develop and mature. She argues against the concept of Yeridat ha-dorot
, the idea that knowledge of Torah diminishes with time. She also argues against approaches of more liberal movements which address perceived flaws by challenging the divinity and religious validity of sacred texts and traditions, arguing that such an approach only undermined the foundations faith. She develops the metaphor of "Expanding the Palace of Torah", originally an idea of Abraham Isaac Kook
, for an approach seeking to address contemporary concerns by expanding rather than undermining religious tradition.
Jewish philosophy
Jewish philosophy , includes all philosophy carried out by Jews, or, in relation to the religion of Judaism. Jewish philosophy, until modern Enlightenment and Emancipation, was pre-occupied with attempts to reconcile coherent new ideas into the tradition of Rabbinic Judaism; thus organizing...
at Bar Ilan University.
She has scholarly expertise in the thought of Abraham Isaac Kook
Abraham Isaac Kook
Abraham Isaac Kook was the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the British Mandate for Palestine, the founder of the Religious Zionist Yeshiva Merkaz HaRav, Jewish thinker, Halachist, Kabbalist and a renowned Torah scholar...
, the modern Musar
Mussar movement
The Musar movement is a Jewish ethical, educational and cultural movement that developed in 19th century Eastern Europe, particularly among Orthodox Lithuanian Jews. The Hebrew term Musar , is from the book of Proverbs 1:2 meaning instruction, discipline, or conduct...
movement and the ideology of Mitnaggedism, and Judaism and gender. She is the author of books and articles on Jewish ethics
Jewish ethics
Jewish ethics stands at the intersection of Judaism and the Western philosophical tradition of ethics. Like other types of religious ethics, the diverse literature of Jewish ethics primarily aims to answer a broad range of moral questions and, hence, may be classified as a normative ethics...
and theology, contemporary issues in traditional Jewish thought, philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
of halakha
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
, and Orthodox Jewish feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
.
As a Modern Orthodox Jewish feminist, Ross attempts to reconcile the idea of "Torah from Heaven" with what she perceives to be flaws in the viewpoint of Halakha and narrative, including both rules which she perceived as biased towards men, and narrative written from an exclusively male viewpoint. One approach she develops to address this problem is the idea of evolving revelation, that is, that we learn more as history evolves and societies develop and mature. She argues against the concept of Yeridat ha-dorot
Yeridat ha-dorot
Yeridat ha-dorot , meaning literally "the decline of the generations", or nitkatnu ha-dorot , meaning "the diminution of the generations", is a concept in classical Rabbinic Judaism and contemporary Orthodox Judaism expressing a belief of the intellectual inferiority of subsequent, and contemporary...
, the idea that knowledge of Torah diminishes with time. She also argues against approaches of more liberal movements which address perceived flaws by challenging the divinity and religious validity of sacred texts and traditions, arguing that such an approach only undermined the foundations faith. She develops the metaphor of "Expanding the Palace of Torah", originally an idea of Abraham Isaac Kook
Abraham Isaac Kook
Abraham Isaac Kook was the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the British Mandate for Palestine, the founder of the Religious Zionist Yeshiva Merkaz HaRav, Jewish thinker, Halachist, Kabbalist and a renowned Torah scholar...
, for an approach seeking to address contemporary concerns by expanding rather than undermining religious tradition.
Works
- "The Cognitive Value of Religious Truth Claims: Rabbi A.I. Kook and Postmodernism", in Hazon Nahum: Jubilee Volume in Honor of Norman Lamm, December 1997, pp. 479–527.
- “Modern Orthodoxy and the Challenge of Feminism”, in Studies in Contemporary Jewry, edited by Jonathan Frankel, Eli Lederhendler, Peter Y. Medding and Ezra Mendelsohn. Institute of Contemporary Jewry and Oxford University Press, 2000, pp, 3-38
- "Orthodoxy, Women, and Halakhic Change" (Hebrew), in The Quest for Halakha: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Jewish Law, edited by Amichai Berholz. Yediot Aharonot/Bet Morasha, 2003, pp. 387–438.
- Expanding the Palace of Torah: Orthodoxy and Feminism. Brandeis University Press, 2004. ISBN 1-58465-390-6
See also
- Jewish feminismJewish feminismJewish feminism is a movement that seeks to improve the religious, legal, and social status of women within Judaism and to open up new opportunities for religious experience and leadership for Jewish women...
- Jewish Orthodox Feminist AllianceJewish Orthodox Feminist AllianceThe Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance was founded in 1997 with the aim of "expand[ing] the spiritual, ritual, intellectual, and political opportunities for women with the framework of halakha," or Jewish law...
- Role of women in JudaismRole of women in JudaismThe role of women in Judaism is determined by the Hebrew Bible, the Oral Law , by custom, and by non-religious cultural factors...