Suskin shared in her article "Hearing the Daughter Voice" that she did not grow up a practicing religious Jew, but had a connection to her Jewishness. She knew that being a Jew meant that she was linked to social justice, to making the world a better place. In college, she for some strange reason found herself wanting to defend Judaism when it came under attack as a patriarchal religion, and it drove her to study it. She became so connected to Judaism that she decided to pursue becoming a rabbi. She continued to struggle with the misogynist tones in Orthodox practice, and concluded that "Jews need feminism because without feminism, Judaism ceases to be true to itself. " She sees Judaism as a religion that has always "resisted the degrading paradigms of dominant culture." Since feminism is the mechanism by which modern society questions dominant culture, feminism can remind Judaism of what it is really about: being God's hands on earth.
This article intrigued me, and though our faith traditions are different, so much of what Suskin said resonated with me. Christianity is Jesus' religion. Jesus who saw everyone. He was about turning the status quo upside down. Yet Christianity has been guilty of some ugly stuff: sexism, racism, propping up oppressive regimes, witch hunts, etc. Christianity needs feminism too, to remind us what we are about: continuing the work of Jesus' hands on earth. I would also add that Christianity needs Jesus too.
Another thing Suskin said is that in her tradition, they are asked whether it is better to study or do. "The answer is that study is better, when it leads to action." I loved that too. Don't we have that debate in Christian circles as well? And I can vouch for countless feminist articles that talk about action vs. theory.
The quote that sealed that I was going to write about this article:
"This is what makes me a feminist: the knowledge that God is present in every voice, and so every voice must have the chance to speak."
Amen, Sister!
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