The Many Faces of the Modern Jewish Woman in Romania

In October 2002, the first Jewish women’s seminar was held in Romania. Due to the success of this seminar, held for women under the age of thirty-five, another women’s seminar was initiated in May 2003 targeted towards middle-aged women. Two JDC Jewish Service Corps Volunteers, Moriah and Shoshana, planned and conducted the seminars. Most of the participants had little or no exposure to Judaism as children and young adults and many feared their involvement in the Jewish community would lead to anti-Semitism.

The theme of the weekend in May was: "The many faces of the modern Jewish woman in Romania." The goals were to spend time focusing on Jewish women’s studies and the daily dilemmas of modern life. The topics that were covered throughout the seminar were: Who is a Jewish Woman? (the women were divided into two groups and drew examples of a Jewish woman); Is There Such a Thing as the Ideal Jewish Woman? (they met four different modern Jewish women and had to discuss which was the best Jew); the Wall of History (they created a timeline based on names, dates, and locations of famous Jewish women in history); What is Beauty? (they were given fashion magazines and created a collage based on society’s idea of what it means to be beautiful); Women Helping Women: Solving Problems Together (they wrote down problems that women face, and discussed each problem); Kabbalat Shabbat (they shared personal and modern techinas, traditional Yiddish women's prayers); Text study on Devorah (they studied two chapters and then answered questions); Anti-Semitism in Our Daily Lives (they shared their view of anti-Semitism in Romania); Sex and Society: Sometimes Things Are Not What They Seem (they shared their views and ideas about the importance of sex education).

The seminar was a great success and the women who participated learned a great deal, not just about Judaism but about themselves too. Shoshana, one of the organizers of the event, said that, " As an active Jewish feminist, I personally feel that many modern Jewish women have a hard time finding a place in a male centered Jewish community. By attending the Women's Seminar, many of these women had their first opportunity to spend a weekend free from the stresses of daily life as a modern middle-aged Jewish woman in Romania."