Egalitarianism in halakhah encompasses a wide range of topics. We studied three principal topics at Kehilat Hadar's Shavuot retreat in 2002 and 2004:
- Women's obligation in prayer
- Women as shelichot tzibbur (prayer leaders) and as Torah readers
- Women counting in a minyan
Sources are in the original with accompanying English translations.
Links to other useful resources on prayer in an egalitarian setting are included below.
Among the principal teshuvot (responsa) concerning egalitarianism are those written by Rabbi David Golinkin and Rabbi Steve Wald. It is worth studying these in the original Hebrew, as the English versions available are actually only summaries.
Not all of these teshuvot are in accordance with Hadar's current practice, but all are useful resources.
Teshuvot by Rabbi Golinkin:
Women in minyan and as prayer leaders
- http://www.responsafortoday.com/vol6/1_4.pdf (starts on page 2)
- http://www.responsafortoday.com/engsums/6_5.htm (English summary)
Women as Torah readers (and taking aliyot)
- http://www.responsafortoday.com/vol3/2.pdf
- http://www.responsafortoday.com/engsums/3_2.htm (English summary)
Women saying mourner's kaddish
- http://www.responsafortoday.com/vol3/6.pdf
- http://www.responsafortoday.com/engsums/3_6.htm (English summary)
Several short booklets based in part on Rabbi Golinkin's writings are available through the Schechter Institute in Israel. Here are links to the first two pamphlets available on-line:
Halakhic Status of B'not Kohein and B'not Leivi for Aliyot
- http://www.responsafortoday.com/vol3/3.pdf
- http://www.responsafortoday.com/engsums/3_3.htm (English summary of the above)
- http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/teshuvot/docs/19861990/roth_daughtersaliyot.pdf
- http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/teshuvot/docs/19861990/bergman_daughtersaliyot.pdf
Birkat Kohanim (Nesiat Kapayim) by women
- http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/teshuvot/docs/19912000/bramnick_kogen.pdf
- http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/teshuvot/docs/19912000/rabinowitz_wome...
- http://www.responsafortoday.com/vol3/1.pdf
- http://www.responsafortoday.com/engsums/3_1.htm (English summary)
Contact Rabbi Golinkin at golinkin@schechter.org.il.
An excellent resource about women reading Torah in the context of an Orthodox service is R' Mendel Shapiro's article in the Edah Journal: http://www.edah.org/backend/JournalArticle/1_2_shapiro.pdf
Additional topics:
Women and Tefillin: