Education for Haredi (highly religious) jewish women, plus Asian Salmon Wrap Recipe

While I enjoy many aspects of my observant Jewish lifestyle, it is hardly paradise. Daily life is full of real challenges, large and small. How to pay for tuition for the kids. How to make my business succeed, when I am closed for Shabbat observance on the busiest days of the week. (I am a caterer who cannot operate on Fridays or Saturdays) How to deal with the regulations and byzantine rules of kashrut supervision. How to spend any time at all with my husband, who must work 50-60 hour weeks to make up for those weeks of unpaid time off he has to take to celebrate the many Jewish holidays. How to handle our sons' comments about dinosaurs - even though we have taken them to the museum of natural history, they are taught that dinosaurs are "fiction." I could go on and on.

But there is one topic that has so bothered me that I have taken time out of my overtaxed schedule to blog about it. And that is higher education for fervently religious (Haredi) women. Hats off to Modesty Blase, a religious blogger regularly found on jpost.com, for pointing my attention in this direction (she mentions the jewish feminist blog lilith in one of her posts). Lilith focused on this issue in early 2007, after it happened:
Haredi women are now forbidden to get higher education.
- Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv was quoted in Yated Neeman objecting to teachers' enrolling in "all kinds of other education programs without any supervision of rabbis on every detail". He warned that without close supervision and determining the content, "all manner of heresy can creep into those programs." The rabbis were mostly infuriated by the psychological subjects in the teaching programs. (quoted from the Ha'Aretz article linked above)

I am just staggered by this decision. What kind of thought police are we now subjecting ourselves to? Do our rabbis really think it's appropriate for them to screen and filter all information that comes our way? Not just the internet, no, now it's course content for teacher certification. We don't want guidance counselors to be trained in psychology. How can they help their students, then?

After reading this article, I googled the topic to find out what the response has been so far. Precious little, if the internet is any indicator. This development seems to barely merit any discussion at all. Indeed, the happiness and wellbeing of haredi women is not much discussed.

Torah.org, a pretty right wing website with columns penned by Haredi rabbis, had a kind of editorial about the subject - linked here:

As a Baalat Teshuva and feminist woman, I can both identify with the happiness of the women portrayed in Rachel's Daughters, and the dismay expressed by Orit Shohat. I find it presumptuous of Rabbi Rosenblum to speak for the women he describes. Does he really feel qualified to speak for the entire Haredi female population?


I did NOT become religious last year, and I think some of my newly religious zeal has faded over the years as the reality of living this life sinks in. It's not an easy life, it's very expensive, and there is no support system once you are married and settled. Much different than when one is young and single, contemplating the rough, cold world of secular society.

I had a top notch secular education myself, and have enjoyed being able to pursue a career that has been both stimulating and financially rewarding. Without that education I cannot imagine how I would ever be able to make a financial contribution to my family. Teachers in the local day schools don't earn more than $10-15/hour around here. And if my husband were not an attorney, earning a professional's salary, we would be homeless. That is the reality! Most haredi families are completely dependent upon their parents for support. Once this generation that is being supported becomes the parent generation and tries to support its children, we will see this whole system collapse in disarray. It's simply not sustainable, and the rabbis are doing the community a huge disservice by insisting that men remain in kollel and women remain uneducated. People will abandon the community in droves just to survive! It would behoove our community to have a more balanced and thoughtful debate about this very complex and challenging issue. Too many smug and pat answers just turn people off, or send them into a state of despair.

Failed Messiah writes about this topic with more balance and less acrimony than usual: his article and comments are posted here.

Recently, the largest girls' school in Lakewood, NJ was closed for over a week because its teachers were out on strike. Apparently they had some funny ideas about getting paid for their work. It seems that many haredi schools feel that pay for teachers is somewhat optional. Thank G-d, the rabbis of Lakewood felt otherwise and fully supported the teachers' strike. But I have heard from friends that this despicable custom of not paying teachers is not new. Indeed, some friends said their education was regularly disrupted by teacher strikes. How is this failure to pay teachers in line with Jewish teachings about business? We are commanded to pay a laborer at the end of his or her day's work.

It seems to me that the teacher strike in the girls's school and the narrowing options for higher education for women are related phenomena. It points to a lack of respect for education, and educators. That is just simply not in line with Jewish teachings. We are the people of the book, after all! I would love to hear some comments from women in the system who have experienced what I am talking about. If you don't feel comfortable sharing your thoughts publicly, feel free to email me privately at rebeccafriedman@yahoo.com. I will post an update to this message with my findings.

ON a lighter note, here is a great recipe to try when you want to make something tasty, easy and different for your Shabbat fish course:

Asian Salmon Wraps

1 14.75 ounce can of wildcaught salmon, drained & flaked
12 ounces cutup organic oranges
1/2 cup finely chopped organic scallions
3 tablespoons (more to taste) organic smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon organic tamari
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove
1 inch (more to taste) fresh organic ginger
1-2 dashes toasted sesame oil
1 Head of organic romaine lettuce, washed, checked & dried
1 package ezekiel wraps

Place the salmon in a medium bowl. Put the ginger in a garlic press, hold over the bowl, & squeeze hard to extract the juice. Follow suit with the garlic. (More to taste or for health benefits) Add everything else but the oranges & green onions. Taste & adjust seasonings, adding salt, pepper or something spicy to suit your tastes. Mix well again. Gently fold in the oranges & scallions. If you are making this for Shabbat, put the mixture in a tupperware & set it aside until ready to eat. It will keep well for a few days.

When ready to eat - assemble the wraps: Lay out a wrap and insert 1-2 romaine leaves. Carefully spoon a few tablespoons of the salmon mixture into the leaves (don't overload or you won't be able to roll the wraps!) and then, starting from one end, slowly roll the wrap, keeping it as tight and neat as you can. It should resemble a cigar when done. Seal it closed with a couple of toothpicks, and slice into either pinwheels or in halves. Place on a platter lined with more romaine leaves & orange slices for a nice presentation.

Enjoy & keep in touch!

Rebecca