Women in the Synagogue

Introduction

After the destruction of the Temple, the synagogue became the major center of Jewish worship, as it was considered a mikdash me’at (a miniature Temple). Prayer and Torah study replaced sacrifice and became the fulcrum of worship. Women continued to play a public role in synagogue life throughout antiquity.

During the Middle Ages, Jewish women in Ashkenazic countries were active in the synagogue. Sefer Hasidim, a medieval treatise, describes a particular set of circumstances in which women were regular attendees of the synagogue, not just on the Sabbath but also on weekdays. (link) Similar to ancient times, European synagogues that were built at the beginning of the second millennium were built without a separate women’s area. Some of these synagogues had separate rooms for the women that were added at a later period, as the need for a separate sacred space for women’s prayer arose.

Since the women were so separated from the main service, they created their own parallel prayer service, which was often led by a female prayer leader. Sometimes these services were merely guidance to and translations of the main service, but sometimes they added their own prayers and even their own liturgy. The phenomenon of women leading prayers for other women in the women’s synagogues existed as early as the twelfth century.

Women Prayer Leaders

One of the earliest known female prayer leaders is Dulcia, the wife of R. Eleazer of Worms (the Rokeach). Dulcia emerges as a knowledgeable teacher of women. She was very involved in synagogue life and also taught her daughters to follow in her footsteps. But in 1197 she was killed along with her daughters by the Crusaders. Upon her untimely death, her husband wrote a kinnah, or lament, praising his wife and daughters. In the poem R. Eleazer portrays his wife as a righteous woman. It is clear from this description that she prayed and also taught other women to chant songs.

. . . Zealous in everything [she did],

she spun [cords] for [sewing] tfillin and megillot

gut for [stitching together] Torah scrolls . . .

sewed some forty Torah scrolls;

. . . she makes wicks for the synagogues and schools,

and she says Psalms;

She sings hymns and prayers, she recites petitions;

Daily [she says] confession, “nishmat kol hai” and “ve-kol ma’aminim”

She says “pittum haketoret” and the Ten Commandments;

In all the towns she taught women (so that they can) chant songs;

She knows the order of the morning and evening prayers,

And she comes early to synagogue, stays late;

She stands throughout Yom Kippur, sings and prepared the candles [beforehand];

She honors the Sabbaths and Holidays as well as Torah scholars[1]Translation appears in Ivan Marcus, “Mothers, Martyrs, and Moneymakers: Some Jewish Women in Medieval Europe”, Conservative Judaism 38(3), 1986, 40–42

In the later Middle Ages, we find more and more evidence of women’s galleries, prayers and prayer leaders.

Mendele Mocher Seforim in the 19th century describes the female prayer leader’srole not only as a technical guide but also as spiritual inspiration:

She was a learned woman, who knew all kinds of prayers [tkhines], prayers of the Land of Israel and prayers of Sarah bas Tovim; she was well-versed in the laws . . . It was she who showed the women how to pray: what hymns to say, when to rise, when to stand on tip-toe in the Kedushah prayer . . . And in fact it was hardly possible to keep from fainting when Sarah read. She would read with great emotion, her melody melting the soul and pulling at the heart strings.[2]Mendele Mokher Seforim, “Of Bygone Days,” in Ruth Wise, ed. and trans., A Shtetl and Other Yiddish Novellas, New York: Behrman, 1973, 300–301

Women’s Prayers

One such example is a tkhine written for a woman to say when she goes to synagogue after giving birth reflects the notion of the historical evolvement of women’s place in ritual and prayer:

Lord of the entire Universe! When the beis hamikdash stood in Yerushalayim, it was the custom that a woman who had just arisen from childbirth would bring a sacrifice to the Temple. Now that—because of our many sins—the beis hamikdash is no more, we fulfill our obligation through prayer in a mikdesh me’at. Therefore I go to shul to thank You and to praise You, dear God, for all the loving kindness which You have bestowed upon me to this very day. And I also ask You to continue and not to remove your loving kindness from me, sore bas toyvim.[3]Tracy Guren Klirs, The Merit of Our Mothers—A Bilingual Anthology of Jewish Women’s Prayers, Cincinnati: HUC, 1992, 130–131

But women’s prayers were not heard only amongst women. There is evidence of various piyutim that were written by women, but were meant to be recited by all Jews.

A fine example of one of these piyutim is attributed to Osnat Mizrahi (nee Barzani) in 17th century Kurdistan.

In the following prayer-poem, she expresses her hope of redemption, the coming of the Messiah and the rebuilding of the Temple. Her theme is not reflective of an individual woman in distress, but rather of a person who views herself as a religious leader of the Jewish nation:

…ראש ישאו בנים דורשי

לי עמים יובילו שי

צאני אקבץ אמנה אבנה מקדשי

אהיה דורש יורש שרש בן ישי

האל יבנה את מגדל

ציון וכבודי צר יגדל

רוחי ישיב, ישוב וינשא שח נבדל

תוך אולמי עמי ושמי יתגדל

Like Hannah, Osnat’s prayer reflects a vision for a brighter future for the People of Israel.