Hillel Changes Ritual Rules

In an effort to satisfy both the traditional and egalitarian wings of Harvard’s Jewish community, Executive Director of Hillel Bernard Steinberg announced a change yesterday in Hillel’s policies on who may lead certain rituals.

After eight months of deliberation, Steinberg decided that from now on, only men will say Birkat Hamazon and only women will say Kiddush at all Hillel community Friday dinners and Saturday lunches.

Birkat Hamazon, an after-meal grace, is always led by men in traditional Judaism, while Kiddush—which is said before Hillel meals—can be led by either men or women.

While Steinberg made the final decision, the community was extensively consulted. The arrangement’s success will be evaluated in one year, and a decision will be taken as to whether to change back.

“My role has been to facilitate discussion and to elicit deep, deep thinking,” Steinberg said. “The decision mirrors and reflects the pulse of the community. I don’t regard it as my decision.”

Hillel Chair Benjamin Z. Galper ’02, who is also a Crimson editor, estimated that about 200 people attend Hillel community meals and will be affected by the decision.

In a question-and-answer session after the announcement, none of the 30 students present contested the change.

“I’m pleased with the decision,” said Nathan R. Rosenthal ’04. “I think it’s the best conservative compromise that could be reached.”

“It seems like its a fair compromise that effectively balances the views of the halakic [traditional] Jews with those who feel the need for non-gender-specific prayer in a pluralistic setting,” Dan Kaan ’05 said.

But the decision did not please everybody. Several Hillel members, who wished to remain anonymous, said they felt that women always saying Kiddush was arbitrary and removed from the spirit of the prayers.

On the other hand, some liberal members said they felt the new arrangement did not accord women a significant enough role in services.

Galper said this dissatisfaction was inevitable.

“Part of being a member of a community is being comfortable and being uncomfortable,” he said. “If you’re not being uncomfortable, you are not growing.”

Community-wide decisions of this nature are unusual at Hillel, as most ritual practices occur in the individual prayer groups of its many denominations, including Orthodox, Conservative and Reform. Meals are among the only events involving rituals that the whole community takes part in.

The decision whether to include the word “matriarch” alongside “patriarch” in certain prayers, for instance, was made by each prayer group individually.

“I was brought up an egalitarian Jew,” said Sasha G. Weiss ’05. “To me it is very natural that women should have just the same role [as men] in ceremonies.”

“But part of being egalitarian is that you have to respect other people’s views,” she added.

—Staff writer Nicholas F. Josefowitz can be reached at josefow@fas.harvard.edu.