I'm no raging feminist, but...

It's a beautiful thing to witness efforts of equality. Through interning with Aimee, I discovered a unique project that seeks to bring equality within Judaism: The Women's Torah Project. The Torah, also known as the Bible - the great canon text of human literature- throughout time has been dissected and picked apart as we study to find deeper meanings burrowed within. Unfortunately, women in older traditions of Judaism were given less rights than men -as is the case with the origins of many prominent religions because they were formed in male-dominant worlds and theologies.

But in our modern world, no longer do women sit placidly by if they feel their rights are not being met. The Women's Torah Project strives to attain equal access to the spiritual opportunities that the tradition of scribing the Torah can offer. Customarily, the scribing of the Torah -the central text of Judaism that carries the heavy weight of history, culture, and morality- was a task restricted to men only. What of women? In Orthodox Judaism, if the letters of a Torah are written with a female hand, such a Torah is considered non-kosher or illegitimate. If someone wants to embark on an experience of spirituality that the scribing of the Torah may hold to them, why should they be denied this because of their gender?

The Kadima Reconstructionist Community in Seattle, with similar sentiment on the lack of opportunity for women in Judaism, were the ones to initiate the process of procuring a Torah written solely by women.

[Women's Torah from Sasha Perry on Vimeo.]

As the video above describes, six women from around the world took up the call to scribe when Kadima commissioned the first Torah to be scribed by a woman. The passion and determination of these women for this ground-breaking project is uplifting to witness. This Torah isn't just for the six scribes, or exclusively for the Kadima community, but it is a gift to the world. All can share in the teachings of equality that this Torah holds true to.

What the video does not mention is that every part of this Torah was a custom creation by various female artists. One of those artists happens to be Aimee! She crafted the crowns, the top of the handles of the Torah.

[Torah Crowns for the Women's Torah: Copper 22K gold, Brown diamond]

Across the nation, people are beginning to recognize how significant this project is for the Jewish population. The Curator of Contemporary Judaica at the Jewish Museum of New York, Daniel Belasco, took note of its importance and recently wrote an article for Metalsmith Magazine vol 31/no 3, titled: "Post-Ethnic Judaica Today." He included the crowns Aimee created for the Women's Torah Project. Here's what he wrote:

"The Women’s Torah Project in Seattle, the first Torah entirely written and adorned by women, first read publicly in 2010, is among the most ambitious recent American synagogue commissions. California-based metalsmith Aimee Golant contributed rimonim, or finials, for the pair of wood staves. Golant, who has created mezuzahs for two Space Shuttle missions, and for the new National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, turned an object typically associated with fruit (rimonim means pomegranate in Hebrew) or royalty (a crown is another common type) into two-dimensional decorative flourishes. She likens the pair to open doors, and they are reminiscent of the baroque ornament flanking the facades of Jesuit churches in Rome. The use of copper, an unusual choice for contemporary Judaica, lends the pieces a warm humility." If you're interested in reading the entire article, visit: Post Ethnic: Judaica Today

Not only did Aimee create these beautiful pieces, but she actively engages herself in the effort of bringing the Women's Torah to the Bay Area. Many facets of its journey must be set before the Torah can even board its westbound flight, such as funding, timing, and location, so Aimee needs to confer with others to plan what's happening. And boy does she plan! I had the privilege of helping to prepare for and taking notes for a meeting with the great female Jewish minds affiliated with the project. This outspoken, motivated group included Wendy Graff (Women’s Torah Project Kadima - Seattle), Mychal Copland- (Hillel of Stanford), Helene Casella- (Temple Isaiah/ Hadassah), Sandy Sidorsky- (Hadassah), Allison J. Green (Jewish Community Library SF), Rabbi Jane Litman- (Head of Western Region Reconstructionist Federation), and of course, Aimee Golant.

Since a lot of information gets passed along rather quickly in these types of discussions, Aimee gave me the task of taking notes during the meeting on what was decided on during the duration of talk and what each person would be responsible for. After the meeting, Aimee and I worked to make my notes succinct and decisive. With each decision and responsibility clearly noted to our memory, we sent out this document to the rest of the group.

Although I found it difficult to keep up with the meeting at times, due to my lack of background on the events and people that the group discussed, I still could recognize the great importance of what they were aiming to achieve: to help spread the messages of education, collaboration, and equality through the Women's Torah.

To check out when the Torah may be headed your way in the Bay Area, check out this tentative calender:

February 22nd - 29th, 2012
Women's Torah Project: Look for Aimee's art at many of these events, with 10% benefitting the WTP.
2/22 Jewish Community Library Event
2/23 Diablo Valley Hadassah Event at Temple Isaiah in Lafayette, CA
2/24 Temple Isaiah Friday Evening Service with special Oneg sponsored by "The Women of Isaiah"
2/25 Shabbat Service at Ner Shalom in Cotati, CA
2/25 Mincha Havdallah at Keddem in Palo Alto
2/26 Temple Isaiah Sunday School Event
2/27 Temple Isaiah Rosh Chodesh Meeting
2/28 Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, Event
2/29 Stanford Hillel Event