New scholarships offered to Jewish women by JOFA
JOFA Australia, the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance, seeks to expand the spiritual, ritual and intellectual opportunities for women within the framework of halakha (Jewish law), by advocating meaningful participation for women in family life, synagogues, houses of learning and Jewish communal organisations to the fullest extent possible.
“JOFA Australia is to partner with the Sydney Women’s Tefillah Group and the Women’s Orthodox Tefillah Group in Victoria to offer a comprehensive Torah reading and leyning program for women,” said JOFA Australia president Nomi Kaltmann. “We are thrilled that women in the Australian Jewish community will be offered the chance to receive access a 10-week training course that teaches women the Halachot of Torah reading, trop and the cantillations. We are sure these new skills will proliferate and become very useful for women who are seeking to have greater involvement in women’s Simchat Torah readings and Bat Mitzvah celebrations.”
In-person training for women from Melbourne and Sydney begins this week in Melbourne and Sydney and aims to create a new cohort of teachers that are able to provide women with greater familiarity with Torah reading.
It is also the first time that JOFA Australia has partnered with local Australian women’s Tefillah networks to enhance the experiences of women who love to be involved in Synagogue ritual within the confines of Halacha. A range of women from different age groups have applied to do the course and all have received a scholarship to complete their training.
“A comprehensive, structured course for groups of women has not been offered in Australia for many years and we are thrilled that women from across the country will receive the opportunity to receive a scholarship from JOFA Australia in conjunction with the Women’s Tefillah groups in Melbourne and Sydney to complete their training,” said Kaltmann.
Since launching almost two years ago, the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance Australia has provided opportunities to Australian women that actively promote leadership and support women’s Torah learning, public speaking, teaching and engagement. To date, 110 Australian women from four Australian States and Territories have received scholarships to complete training courses related to Torah learning and Jewish women’s leadership. JOFA Australia has also launched the first-ever orthodox women’s speaker bureau, with more than 70 Australian women from across the country listed on a publicly available bureau.
“Change comes in ripples, and we see the success of all our previous programs knowing that Jewish women from across Australia are enthusiastic to embrace these Torah learning opportunities, which we are keen to continue to offer,” said Kaltmann.
