Žena v rituálním životě současného reformního judaismu

The position of women in Judaism has started to change in connection with the rise of the Reform movement at the beginning of the nineteenth century (Germany, England, USA). Reform Judaism has modified or completely abandoned many of the traditional Jewish beliefs, laws and practices in its effort to adapt Judaism to the changed social, political and cultural climate of the modern world. Reform Judaism considers itself to be in opposition to Orthodox Judaism and questions the binding force of the Biblical and Talmudic rituals, laws and customs. -- Within this new movement women have gradually gained access to the traditionally male-dominated spheres of scholarship and leadership in the communities. They have become equals in the area of religious decision-making and they have finally reached the ultimate symbol of the traditional male authority – the rabbinate. -- This study examines the notion of mitzvot in relation to the ways of arguing whether or not they are obligatory for women. The main part of the study looks at the changes made in the traditional liturgy (mehitzah, minyan), religious rituals (tallit, tzitzit), functions (rabbinate), and prayers and blessings (siddur), These last mentioned are especially illustrative of the changes as the Reform views on the equality of women are also reflected in prayer books. One of the most important features is the use of gender-neutral language found when speaking about humans but also about God, hitherto addressed in male terms such as Father. -- A special section is devoted to prayers and rituals newly created for and by women. In this respect, it is interesting to note that the originally abandoned rituals are coming back and new ones are being created to capture the unique female experience. This relatively new area of Jewish religious life has seen great boom with some of the rituals performed universally, others confined to individual communities.