Conservative Rabbis Are Missing an Opportunity with Kitniyot Ruling

Passover hasn't even begun, and I'm already frustrated with so much talk about food. Well, this year it's not hametz that is at the root of so many debates in the Jewish community, but rather kitniyot. Kitniyot is the Hebrew term for non-hametz food products like corn, rice, beans, and legumes, such as soybeans, peas, lentils, and peanuts that Ashkenazi Jews traditionally have not eaten on Passover for the past 700 years.

The Conservative Movement, of which I affiliate, announced a major change this past fall with regard to the permissibility of consuming kitniyot on Passover. Throughout the holiday, we are forbidden from eating (or even possessing) the five grains designated as hametz -- wheat, barley, spelt, oats, and rye. While Sephardic Jews have always eaten kitniyot, Ashkenazic Jews have regarded them in the category of forbidden Passover foods for a few reasons that don't make sense anymore. The recent teshuvah (responsum) approved by the Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards really isn't as monumental as it sounds, because in 1989 Conservative Rabbi David Golinkin, in Israel, essentially overturned the ban on kitniyot with his own teshuvah.

The Conservative Movement of Judaism has approved eating kitniyot (legumes) on Passover.

While there has been so much debate over the past several weeks on the issue of eating kitniyot, that is actually not my concern. With the crazy political nature of the kosher certification world, I'm actually cautious about expressing my own opinion on the kitniyot debate as it would have significant ramifications for the kosher certification agency I founded eight years ago. My concern is not whether we should be eating rice cakes with peanut butter and corn tortillas with refried beans on Pesach (Passover). My focus is on the nature of these debates taking place this spring in Conservative synagogues throughout North America.

Israel's The Voice: When Religion Goes Too Far

I always try to be careful to not criticize other's religious convictions, the way in which they interpret and practice religious law, or the decisions they make about what they cannot do based on their religious practice. I did, however, find it upsetting that a 17-year-old young woman in Israel was suspended from her school for singing on a reality TV show.

At issue was the prohibition on women singing in public that some Jews follow. Kol isha, or "a woman's voice," is derived from the Talmud and is one of the laws that fits into the category of ervah (literally "nakedness"). But the issue of a man listening to a woman's singing voice isn't so clear cut. While some Jewish legal authorities claim that kol isha applies at all times, others say the prohibition doesn't apply to a recorded voice. That would be the case on the Israeli version of "The Voice," a reality TV competition show.

Ophir Ben-Shetreet was being coached by Israeli singer Aviv Geffen

This young Israeli student, Ophir Ben-Shetreet, didn't seem to have an issue with singing on this TV show and any of the men who felt it posed a threat to their religious convictions had every opportunity to not watch the episode. However, rather than tuning out the rabbis of her religious girls’ high school in Ashdod, Israel, suspended the 12th grader from school for two weeks. Just for singing in public.

An interesting side note in this controversy is that the Israeli Ministry of Education could not allow Ben-Shetreet to officially be punished because there is a rule that says students cannot be punished for performing on a television show. In light of that rule, Ben-Shetreet's parents had to be the ones initiating the punishment, despite their position that she didn't do anything wrong.

Again, I do not condone criticizing other's religious views unless they pose a human rights violation. Certain laws that make women second-class citizens I believe fall into that category. This young woman singing on a television show is her right. The men who feel it is undignified, immodest, or immoral to listen to her beautiful voice have a right to feel that way. And they also have a right to avoid watching or listening to the show. Punishing the young woman for her participation, however, seems wrong and unfair.

The laws of ervah (which include various interpretations of the need for a woman to cover her hair) are not clear cut. There are some religious Jewish communities that would never allow a woman to lead religious services, but wouldn't object to a woman singing the national anthem or a secular song. In this case, Ben-Shetreet's participation in the Israeli version of "The Voice" had no effect on her religious day school.

I understand the need for modesty laws in religion and I appreciate any interpretation of any religion that strives for modesty. However, these modesty laws must be kept in check. In Judaism we run the risk of taking these laws too far and then in an effort to be modest, the misinterpretation of the laws cause immoral acts. Banning a female high school student from singing on a reality TV show is certainly an example of this. Ben-Shetreet is a talented young girl with a beautiful voice. Suspending her from school for two weeks in the name of her religion for doing nothing wrong will have negative effects for her and countless other young woman who want to embrace Judaism; not be shunned because of it.


I really liked something that Ben-Shetreet said during an interview on the show. "The Torah wants music to make people happy, and I think it’s possible to do both, which is why I came to the show."


I couldn't imagine silencing my daughter from singing in public. I would of course celebrate her solo singing opportunities on stage rather than denigrate her for them. There are many religious laws -- not only in Judaism but in other religions as well -- that should be respected even if many of us find them problematic. It is when religious laws, like in this case, are used illogically to keep people from attaining their full potential and achieving their goals. No one was going to get hurt by Ophir Ben-Shetreet performing on this reality TV show. But I'm afraid the Jewish religion took a hit because of the decision to punish her.

Patrilineal "Dissent": Solving the Jewish Status Problem

My mother isn't/wasn't Jewish, my father is. I was raised Reform, had a Bat mitzvah, [was Jewishly educated, celebrated holidays, identify as Jewish, participated in the Jewish community, did not participate in or celebrate any other faith or religion,] etc. If I have children with a man recognized as fully Jewish, how would they be seen in the eyes of Israel and the American Jewish community (particularly the Conservative movement)? How stable are Israel's laws around this -- could they change in 10 years? What about Halachah (Jewish law)? I would really appreciate an answer, even if it's not what I want to hear. Thank you!

This is the question I was presented with from the website Jewish Values Online. Over the past few years I have answered dozens of values-based questions from this website. I haven't dodged a single question, and I've attempted to respond to each questioner in a timely fashion. Admittedly, I have procrastinated writing a response to this question for several months.

Why? Because I am a Conservative rabbi and this is perhaps the most challenging question that a Conservative rabbi can be asked in the beginning of the 21st century. My Reform and Orthodox colleagues were able to respond to this question in a much more timely fashion. The Reform rabbi is able to cite his movement's historic 1983 resolution establishing that "if the child is raised exclusively as a Jew and one parent is Jewish, then the child is recognized as a Jew in Reform communities regardless of the gender of the Jewish parent." The Orthodox rabbi frames his answer with words like "difficult" and "painful" but ultimately cites Halacha (Jewish law) as unable to recognize the children (or grandchildren) of a Jewish man and non-Jewish woman as Jews without benefit of conversion.