When Tova Hartman moved from her native Montreal to Jerusalem as a teenager, she was distressed, in her family's new Orthodox synagogue, by having to worship separately from men and keep her distance from the scrolls of the Torah. At her father's more modern Orthodox synagogue in Canada, she had felt at home. But exposed to a more traditional form of Orthodox worship - in which women don't count as part of the minyan, or quorum, needed to conduct services - Hartman felt alienated.

In response, in 2001 Hartman founded Shira Hadasha ("new song"), a controversial Orthodox congregation in which women not only handle and read from the Torah, but can lead mixed-sex services. There is a mehitza, or barrier, between men and women, but it is transparent and does not obstruct anyone's view. Hartman, 51, a professor of education and gender studies, calls it, in a piece from the magazine Moment, “an attempt of a group of men and women to give the system and the tradition another chance." While such equality is fairly standard for Reform and Conservative congregations, the fact that Shira Hadasha sticks to a traditional Orthodox mode of worship in other respects has prompted criticism from Orthodox communities in Israel and abroad.

Part of the alarm comes from the congregation's size and success: it counts several hundred members, half of whom are men. Says Hartman in the article, “We are not interested in being a women’s group that is separate from the community...People said you’re never going to be able to get men to come and I’d say, ‘You really underestimate men.’” But despite the debate her congregation has generated, Hartman sees the discussion as an important part of an ever-evolving Jewish tradition that is rooted in argument, reinterpretation and dissent. Some of the objection to the shul is not so much its progressive practices, but that it should call itself Orthodox. But Hartman still regards it as her faith: just one that has room for an evolution that feels to her organic and in keeping with its tenets. As she says, “The dignity of the people was given at Sinai and this is a very deep idea in the Jewish tradition...That women deserve this dignity is something that modernity gave to the world. Feminism enhances the Jewish tradition. It is not only about women. It is about how we as a community of men and women stand before God.”

An Orthodox Feminist Revolutionary [Moment via Utne]

I used fancier materials than we normally use for one of our standard doll houses, in order to show honor for the synagogue in the abstract, and for the Torah and its accessories. I gave up some of my real beads and fabrics, and spent more time on it than one of my 'normal' dollhouses. I wanted there to be room for a at least whole minyan (10 men) of men, and a comparable number of seats for the ladies. I wanted the Torah and its accouterments to be somewhat accurate for both educational and play value.

And how clever and crafty and successful Carolyn's venture was! And how many things we learned from her! Want to make strollers for the women to push their babies in outside while the men pray? Use a broken clothes hanger! Want the flowers in the faux-flower boxes to actually smell? Tape a cinnamon stick to the base of a box before putting your faux flora in them! Want to make a toy Torah? Get yourself some Tyvek [Isn't that the name of the guy in 'Fiddler On The Roof'? Joke. -Ed.], a paint pen, a glue gun, and some tooth picks! What to do for the Torah cover? Paint some duct tape, natch! Need a bookshelf for your prayer books? Coffee stirrers! (No, really, why didn't we think of any of this???)

Seriously, we have never been as terrified / inspired by something in all of our lives. We think even Martha Stewart would be impressed. Martha, if you're reading this — you need to book Carolyn from Boston on your show, stat. Just in time for Channukah! Bring the good lady on and make her recreate, like, The Second Temple using only household goods! This lady is like the MacGyver of the long skirt, hair-covering set.

Or better yet, have Carolyn do a cooking segment! Latkes and a pork roast, anyone? Bring your Barbies and say L'Chaim!

Rebuilding The Beit Midrash [Juggling Frogs via Boing Boing]