Chava Green // The Hasidic Feminist

Category: Uncategorized

  • Becoming a Vessel of Light

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    Chava Green
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    I woke up this morning to a blanket of white, pure snow over our Philadelphia street, the light of Chanukah budding in my home, and the horrific news of the terrorist attack in Australia. The daughter of the Rabbi killed was a student in my class last year. I felt broken. I crawled back into…

  • A Modest Interior

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    Chava Green
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    Feminism, AI, and the Danger of a Superficial Life  By Chava Green, PhD [The following is my first messy tangle of thoughts about a topic I have been thinking a lot about: modesty as a path to interiority and an antidote to the digital age. Please send me your thoughts as I begin to develop…

  • G-d is Handing you Resistance Bands: Why Life is Full of Challenges

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    Chava Green
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    “It is Not Good for Man to Be Alone; I Will Make Him an Ezer Kenegdo” Bereshis 2:18  Hidden in this one verse, and specifically in the phrase “ezer kenegdo,” often translated, inaccurately, as helpmate, is another layer in our search for the deeper reason for the diminishment of the feminine. In a richly packed…

  • Patriarchy or Purpose?: The Primordial Fall of Woman

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    Chava Green
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    Depending on the time period and society, women throughout history have had varying levels of agency, but it was always secondary to that of men. Before the 20th century, women in most societies had no legal standing outside of marriage or family ties. Ownership of property or the ability to influence politics was a privilege…

  • Our Father, Our King. But Where is G-d, Our Mother?

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    Chava Green
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    While listening to a song in the car about “Aveinu She’b’shamayim,” which means “Our Father in Heaven”, my six year-old asked me to translate. I told him it was talking about Hashem as our Tatty (Father in Yiddish). He was silent for a bit and then he asked me, “So, where is the mommy Hashem?”…

  • 10 Essential Texts on Hasidic Feminism by the Lubavitcher Rebbe

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    Chava Green
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    Available for free download. This is my core set of resources on gender and womanhood in the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s teachings. You will find a thorough compilation of essays, translations and worksheets for each source guiding you to be able to learn them on your own, with a partner or in a group. I am considering…

  • The Hasidic Feminist vs. The Anxious Mother

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    Chava Green
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    Twenty minutes before Shabbos last week I was changing my two little kids into Shabbos clothes when I smelled a dirty diaper. I quickly checked the baby and was relieved to see a poop. (I know, weird things moms say.) We were about five days into potty training my almost three year old daughter and…

  • What is a Woman?

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    Chava Green
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    ↓ I was a tomboy as a kid, playing football at recess, building mud castles, and generally not caring much about what anyone thought of me. That all shifted around the beginning of middle school when I grew my short hair long and became interested in more “girly” things like painting my nails, shopping at…

  • The Jewish Case for Minimalism

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    Chava Green
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    Three years ago, we moved into a lovely two bedroom apartment. I remember pulling up to the driveway with a small U-Haul full of all of our possessions and my 14 month-old son in the back seat. As we unloaded the truck, the apartment felt spacious and our things fit neatly into the cupboards and…

  • Hasidic Feminism: The Beginning

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    Chava Green
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    I’ve been hiding for a long time.  Hiding behind my PhD program. Hiding behind the demands of marriage and motherhood.  Hiding behind my small town life. Hiding behind, let’s face it, my insecurities.  What I am really afraid of is making my thoughts and ideas public without being entirely sure of who I am. I…