Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research 2023, 24 (2): 53-82 | DOI: 10.13060/gav.2023.016

Mechitza as a Metaphor: Separation or Unity?

Timea Crofony ORCID...
Univerzita Karlova, Filozofická fakulta, Ústav etnologie a středoevropských a balkánských studií

The paper explores the topic of the Jewish religious spatial practice of a mechitza – the physical separation of women and men in synagogues. At first glance, the mechitza appears to be an indisputable given as a normal part of Orthodox Judaism. At second glance, however, it poses a problem: through the mechitza, women tend to be marginalised not only within the space itself but also on a symbolic level as subjects of religious practice. Using a feminist post-structuralist discourse analysis, the paper investigates how the practice of mechitza is negotiated and what meanings and symbolism it takes on for its religiously gendered subjects. The analysis is conducted on selected articles regarding mechitza as a theme, published by the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance’s Jofa Journal. The identified discourses are as follows: mechitza as a limitation and barrier, mechitza as a possibility and opportunity, and mechitza as a symbol and metaphor. The identified discourses are then transferred in the conclusion of the paper to the discussion about the implicit heteronormativity and binarity of being male and female and the possibility of a subversive appropriation of a mechitza practice.

Keywords: mechitza, gender, Judaism, feminism, discourse analysis, poststructuralism, JOFA, Orthodox Jewish feminism

Received: April 13, 2023; Revised: November 16, 2023; Accepted: November 30, 2023; Published: January 6, 2024  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Crofony, Timea. 2023. "Mechitza as a Metaphor: Separation or Unity?" Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research 24(2):53-82.
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Althusser, L. (1968) 1971. Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays. New York: Monthly Review Press.
    2. Baumel Joseph, N. 1992. Mehitzah: Halakhic Decisions and Political Consequences. Pp. 117-134 in S. Grossman, R. Haut (eds.). Daughters of the King: Women and the Synagogue. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
    3. Baxter, J. 2008. Feminist Post-structuralist discourse analysis: a new theoretical and methodological approach? Staženo 31. 3. 2023 (www.researchgate.net/publication/41231669_Feminist_Post-structuralist_discourse_analysis_a_new_theoretical_and_methodological_approach).
    4. Beauvoir, S. de. 1967. Druhé pohlaví. Praha: Orbis.
    5. Bell, V. 1999. Performativity and Belonging: An Introduction. Theory, Culture and Society 16 (2): 1-10, https://doi.org/10.1177/02632769922050511. Go to original source...
    6. Butler, J. (1993) 2016. Závažná těla. O Materialitě a diskursivních mezích "pohlaví". Praha: Nakladatelství Karolinum.
    7. Crofony, T. 2020. Mechitza jako metafora: separace nebo jednota? Praha, 2020. Diplomová práce. Univerzita Karlova, Fakulta humanitních studií, Katedra genderových studií. Vedoucí práce doc. Věra Sokolová, Ph.D.
    8. Dolgin, J. 2001. At Whose Expense? The JOFA Journal Winter 2001: 1 a 5.
    9. Drazin, R. 2010. From Generation to Generation: A Special bonding. The JOFA Journal 9 (1): 36.
    10. Fairclough, N. 1989. Language and Power. London: Longman.
    11. Fairclough, N. 1995. Critical Discourse Analysis: The Critical Study of Language. London: Logman.
    12. Farber, M. 2009. The Evolving Phases in the Life of a Female Shul-Goer. The JOFA Journal 3 (1): 14-15.
    13. Fenster, T. 2006. The Right to the Gendered City: Different Formations of Belonging in Everyday Life. Journal of Gender Studies 14 (3): 217-231, https://doi.org/10.1080/09589230500264109. Go to original source...
    14. Foucault, M. 1980. Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings.1972-1977. New York: Pantheon.
    15. Goldberg, I., P. Scheininger. 2009. A Balancing Act: Feminism Meets Motherhood. The JOFA Journal 3 (1): 21-23.
    16. Greenberg, B. 2016. Why Mehitzot Matter. The JOFA Journal 14 (1).
    17. Greenberg, B. 2000. Bless this Holy Congregation. The JOFA Journal 2 (2): 1 a 6.
    18. Grossman, S. 1992. Women and The Jerusalem Temple. Pp. 15-38 in S. Grossman, R. Haut (eds.). Daughters of the King: Women and the Synagogue. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
    19. Hirsh, E. The Synagogue Mehitzah Revisited. The JOFA Journal 14 (1).
    20. Horovitz, S. 2005. Conscientious Consciousness. The JOFA Journal 5 (3): 6-7.
    21. Irshai, R. 2015. Judaism. Pp. 413-431 in A. Thatcher (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Theology, Sexuality, and Gender. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Go to original source...
    22. Kohl Finegold, R. 2016. The Maharat Behind the Mehitzah. The JOFA Journal 14 (1).
    23. Kohl, C. 2017. Single Moms Raising Sons. The JOFA Journal 3 (1).
    24. Marcus, B. 2014. Why This Orthodox Woman Wears a Tallit. The JOFA Journal 12 (1): 1, 4-5.
    25. Marcus, B. 2016. Walls and Mechitzot: A Big Difference. The JOFA Journal 14 (1).
    26. Matonoha, J. 2008. "Ženské psaní" jako inscenace limit textu. Česká literatura 56 (2): 201-227.
    27. Noam, V. 2013. Beyond the Inner Mehitza. Staženo 31. 3. 2023 (www.academia.edu/18089484/Beyond_the_Inner_Mehitza).
    28. Sakofs, J. 2016. Family Seating at Life-Cycle Events. The JOFA Journal 14 (1).
    29. Starr, A. 2016. Form Follows Values. The JOFA Journal 14 (1).
    30. Sztokman, E. 2002. Conflict Messages: Feminism in Religious High Schools. The JOFA Journal 3 (2): 3 a 10.
    31. The JOFA Journal (nezjištěné autorství). 2000. New and Noteworthy. The JOFA Journal 2 (2): 3.
    32. Tillinger Wolkenfeld, S. 2009. Celebrating Shabbat: Redefining Roles. The JOFA Journal 3 (1): 5-6.
    33. West, C., D. H. Zimmerman. 1987. Doing Gender. Gender and Society 1 (2): 125-151, https://doi.org/10.1080/09589230500264109. Go to original source...
    34. Wolosky, S. 2009. Foucault and Jewish Feminism: The Mekhitzah as Dividing Practice. Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women's Studies & Gender Issues 17 (1): 9-32, https://doi.org/10.2979/nas.2009.-.17.9. Go to original source...
    35. Zábrodská, K. 2009. Variace na gender: poststrukturalismus, diskurzivnî analýzy a genderová identita. Praha: Academia, Průhledy, sv. 7.

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content