Jewish Modern Orthodox Women, Active Resistance and Synagogue Ritual.

In this paper, I argue that the passive resistance paradigm which has dominated the literature on women in conservative religion is limited and that traces of more active resistance can be found. Based on interviews with Israeli modern Orthodox women who are challenging their exclusion from synagogue ritual, I draw attention to the harsh criticism that they raise and their mobilization to change the status-quo, despite the disapproval of communal rabbis. Reflecting such activism on a wider scale, I also consider the case of Shira Hadasha, an Orthodox feminist congregation in Jerusalem known for its radical departure from mainstream modern Orthodoxy regarding its approach to women's participation in Torah services. Through this study, I seek to contribute both to a better understanding of some of the feminist changes taking hold within modern Orthodoxy in Israel and to a wider perspective of the web of resistance among women in conservative religious traditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]