"Debora will be all right" - she was a judge, she was a prophetess, she was a military leader. But do we consider ourselves her "daughters" or rather her "sisters"? Rachel had just suggested to name our conference "Debora’s Daughters". But why are women so inclined to name themselves in terms of biological lines? Our issue - isn’t it much more comprehensive? What is it all about: isn’t it the spirit, disciples, a school, a place we intend to create? Something like the School of Hillel? - "Bet Debora!" Rachel exclaimed, and that was it: a "Bet", a house, a place of encounter and of learning. A spiritual centre that will transmit new ideas to the outside world.

Three women, sitting at a big table buried under piles of paper, we were pondering the future features of a forum for European "rabbinically scholared and interested "Jewish women. When we spoke about confining ourselves to Europe, a number of people objected: "Well, you will hardly find any women rabbis there, maybe a couple of them in England and then, in Oldenburg, Bea Wyler. You should invite lecturers from America and Israel." But that was definitely what we did not want to do. Not again did we want to model ourselves on situations abroad and we did not want to be lectured by Jews from the USA or Israel about what our Judaism was to look like. We had set up our own structures long ago, hadn’t we? And this was not only about us, but also about lots of Jewish men and women in other European countries.

We are three women living in Germany, in the country that was mostly not foreseen ever to give rise to an authentic Jewish life again. We grew up aware of this fact. In spite of all the different experiences the three of us brought along, there was a deeply-felt unanimity in one thing: we were tired of being told time and again about what was lacking in this place, what was assumed to be impossible in this place because we had lost knowledge of our tradition. We were tired of pitying ourselves. We wanted to do something. Each of us had learned, had acquired Jewish knowledge, each had tackled her own fragmentary Jewish family history; a painful task, leading, however, to one result: here we are and here we will stay for good. And here we live our lives as women committed to feminism.

What about our conceptions of Bet Debora? No hierarchy, no competition, no majority decisions! Everyone has something to give. That is how we had experienced our preparatory team-work: each of us had the chance of contributing her style, her knowledge and her wishes. We benefited and learned from each other. That was our wish for "Bet Debora", too. So we invited European women rabbis, cantors, rabbinical scholars and Jewish women and men with interest in rabbinical matters for a first conference in Berlin. For four days in May 1999, the historical site of the former "New Synagogue" in the Oranienburger Strasse would bear the hallmarks of a new era.

The articles in this journal give examples of the diversity and vivacity of our conference, which was attended by 200 men and women. The journal will be issued in three languages, German, English and Russian. It is more than just a kind of conference proceedings. Apart from excerpts from the speeches and descriptions of the workshops, there are essays, reflexions and interviews. It meant a lot to us to let the participants also have their say. We were overwhelmed by the number of texts we received. Unfortunately, printing space is limited. We were compelled to abridge almost all articles in order to be able to edit them. The complete versions and everything we will receive in addition will be found on our Bet Debora homepage in the net (http://www.hagalil.com/bet-debora).

So, Bet Debora will go on! Besides our homepage and this first journal, we take measures to found our own library with an integrated archive. We collect any written testimony, either in print or hand-written, in order to provide evidence of the lives and work of Jewish women. We have that dream of our own Bet Hamidrash, combined with a publishing house. In any case, we want to contribute to the creation of a European Jewish women’s network.

We are planning another big meeting in spring 2001, where we are going to raise questions concerning the "Family" topic from a women’s point of view, such as: Is the family still the foundation of Jewish life and who belongs to it? What about singles, lesbian couples, children of Jewish fathers or single parents? In which way will the present-day diversity of life-styles change Judaism and its further development? We are looking forward to all kinds of suggestions, via mail, phone, net or fax.

Reactions to this journal are welcome as well and may cause further discussions. We have the Federal Ministry of Families, Senior Citizens, Women and Juveniles, especially Anna-Gertraude Schmidt and Gudrun Dölling, to thank for financing this journal. We have Gabi Burke and Judith Kessler to thank for their unflagging efforts regarding the layout. We have all authors to thank for their articles and all translators for the great job they had to do in almost no time. Last but not least, we have all our friends, men and women, to thank for their encouragement and their spiritual support.

 Rachel Monika Herweg
 Lara Dämmig
 Elisa Klapheck

[CONTENT BET-DEBORA JOURNAL]

[photo-exhibition] - [program] - [reactions]
[history of women in the rabbinate] - [women on the bima]
[start in german] - [start in english]

• Bet Debora
• Jewish Life in Berlin
• Jewish Women`s Activities in Berlin
• Guided Tours on
  Jewish Women`s History