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Tamar Ross

Bar-Ilan University, Jewish Thought, Emerita

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Professor Tamar Ross is Professor Emerita of the Department of Jewish philosophy at Bar-Ilan University. She continues to teach at Midreshet Lindenbaum. She did her Ph.D. at the Hebrew University and served as a post-doctoral fellow at the Center for Jewish Studies at Harvard. She is the author of Expanding the Palace of Torah: Orthodoxy and Feminism. Her areas of expertise include: concepts of God, revelation, religious epistemology, philosophy of halacha, the Musar movement, and the thought of Rabbi A.I. Kook.
Phone: 0528797296
Address: 6 Eliezer hagadol - apt. 7
Jerusalem 9359006
Israel

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חנוך בן-פזי Hanoch Ben-Pazi

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Videos by Tamar Ross

Tamar Ross, “Video: Panel: The State of Contemporary Orthodoxy (Part 2)”

Tamar Ross, “Video: Panel: The State of Contemporary Orthodoxy (Part 2)”

17 views

Tamar Ross, “How Does Feminism Change the Study of Jewish Thought?” at The Public Annual M.G. Levin Lecture in Jewish Thought at Bar-Ilan University (November 21, 2021)

Tamar Ross, “How Does Feminism Change the Study of Jewish Thought?” at The Public Annual M.G. Lev... more

192 views

Tamar Ross, “The Allegorical Interpretation of Tzimtzum” (23 June 2013)

original location (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukJEW51mwJg)

9 views

Tamar Ross: Does Revelation Progress?” Valley Beit Midrash (September 2016)

Tamar Ross, “Video: Does Revelation Progress?” Valley Beit Midrash (September 2016)

13 views

Tamar Ross, “Video: Religious Women in a Postmodern Age”

Tamar Ross, “Video: Religious Women in a Postmodern Age”

21 views

Tamar Ross, “Video: Jewish Education: Continuity for Creativity,” Educating for Jewish Loyalty and Commitment in the 21st Century (2015)

Tamar Ross, “Video: Jewish Education: Continuity for Creativity,” Educating for Jewish Loyalty an... more

4 views

David Wolkenfeld on the thought of Tamar Ross

Rabbi David Wolkenfeld in a series on Jewish thought

7 views

Tamar Ross, Panel discussion: "Orthodox Discussion and its Discontents: Can we say what we actually think?" (2021)

Panel discussion with Rabbis Yitz Greenberg and Herzl Hefter, moderated by Elliot Melamet

36 views

Tamar Ross, “Video: The Allegorical Interpretation of Tzimtzum”

Tamar Ross, “Video: The Allegorical Interpretation of Tzimtzum”

10 views

Tamar Ross and James Kugel, “Video: Q & A from the Audience”

Tamar Ross and James Kugel, “Video: Q & A from the Audience”

10 views

Tamar Ross, “Video: Jewish Thought & Jewish Thinkers” (25 May 2017)

Tamar Ross, “Video: Jewish Thought & Jewish Thinkers” (25 May 2017)

5 views

Tamar Ross, “Video: Conversation with Professor Yeshayahu Leibowitz,” (30 May 1993)

Tamar Ross, “Video: Conversation with Professor Yeshayahu Leibowitz,” (30 May 1993)

10 views

Tamar Ross, “Video: LGBTQ and the Future of Judaism” (14 September 2018) - part II

Tamar Ross, “Video: LGBTQ and the Future of Judaism” (14 September 2018)

36 views

70 Faces to Torah: TV program on Parshat Yitro, moderated by Yaron London, featuring Yirmiyahu Yuval and Tamar Ross

Interview on biblical themes in Parshat Yitro

4 views

Tamar Ross, “Video: The Impact of Feminism on Orthodox Theology,” (23 May 2013)

Tamar Ross, “Video: The Impact of Feminism on Orthodox Theology,” (23 May 2013)

6 views

PLENARY SESSION OF CONFERENCE ON FEMINIST THEOLOGY AND THE ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS - January 31, 2021

THE CHALLENGE OF FEMINISM TO JEWISH THEOLOGY

11 views

Articles & Reviews by Tamar Ross

Tamar Ross, “Can One Choose to Believe? Response to Prof. Yehuda Gellman’s View of the Ontological Status of Religious Truth Statements,” Lecture Delivered at the Eighteenth World Congress of Jewish Studies, in Jerusalem, Israel (August 8-12, 2022)

Tamar Ross, “Navigating between Insider and Outsider Approaches to Religion: A Personal Account,” Lecture Delivered at the European Academy of Religion’s Sixth Annual Conference, St. Andrews, Scotland (June 19-23, 2023)

Despite the academic venue, I prefer to offer my remarks today in a more personal vein. As a chil... more Despite the academic venue, I prefer to offer my remarks today in a more personal vein. As a child born to Orthodox Jewish parents, God from the outset figured prominently in my daily life. In my early years, He felt somewhat like my father, only more so-a benign but also authoritative figure who expected me to strive to be as good a person as I possibly could. I do recall that around the age of eight I sometimes prayed that He would provide me with some tangible hint of His existence, send me a vision of a red thread dangling from the sky or something of the sort. But for the most part, trust in my religious way of life and belief system was natural, part of the air I breathed and took for granted, without much questioning. Waking up every morning and reciting the standard morning prayer of thanks to God for having faithfully returned my soul to me was a natural corollary of my Jewish identity. Performing mitzvot, the established religious norms of the past, was simply what Jews do. Beyond this, as a youngster attending public school in North America, the fact that I was Jewish, and even Orthodox, was also very much attached to the idea of borders, the notion that I differed from my surroundings, was part of a special people, and that God and truth were somehow on my side.

Tamar Ross, “Can We Educate Towards Jewish Loyalty and Commitment in the 21st Century?” Lecture Delivered at Jewish Education: Continuity for Creativity – Conference and Limmud in Memory of Prof. Michael Rosenak, at The Melton Centre for Jewish Education, Hebrew University (January 5, 2016)

Selected Presentations from: Jewish Education - continuity for creativity conference in memory of Prof. Michael Rosenak, 2016

Tamar Ross, “What Good is Communal Prayer?” in Aviad Hacohen and Menachem Butler, eds., Praying for the Defenders of Our Destiny: The Mi Sheberach for IDF Soldiers (Cambridge, MA: The Institute for Jewish Research and Publications, 2023), 522-528

Tamar Ross, “Video: Panel: The State of Contemporary Orthodoxy (Part 2)”

Tamar Ross, “Video: Panel: The State of Contemporary Orthodoxy (Part 2)”

17 views

Tamar Ross, “How Does Feminism Change the Study of Jewish Thought?” at The Public Annual M.G. Levin Lecture in Jewish Thought at Bar-Ilan University (November 21, 2021)

Tamar Ross, “How Does Feminism Change the Study of Jewish Thought?” at The Public Annual M.G. Lev... more

192 views

Tamar Ross, “The Allegorical Interpretation of Tzimtzum” (23 June 2013)

original location (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukJEW51mwJg)

9 views

Tamar Ross: Does Revelation Progress?” Valley Beit Midrash (September 2016)

Tamar Ross, “Video: Does Revelation Progress?” Valley Beit Midrash (September 2016)

13 views

Tamar Ross, “Video: Religious Women in a Postmodern Age”

Tamar Ross, “Video: Religious Women in a Postmodern Age”

21 views

Tamar Ross, “Video: Jewish Education: Continuity for Creativity,” Educating for Jewish Loyalty and Commitment in the 21st Century (2015)

Tamar Ross, “Video: Jewish Education: Continuity for Creativity,” Educating for Jewish Loyalty an... more

4 views

David Wolkenfeld on the thought of Tamar Ross

Rabbi David Wolkenfeld in a series on Jewish thought

7 views

Tamar Ross, Panel discussion: "Orthodox Discussion and its Discontents: Can we say what we actually think?" (2021)

Panel discussion with Rabbis Yitz Greenberg and Herzl Hefter, moderated by Elliot Melamet

36 views

Tamar Ross, “Video: The Allegorical Interpretation of Tzimtzum”

Tamar Ross, “Video: The Allegorical Interpretation of Tzimtzum”

10 views

Tamar Ross and James Kugel, “Video: Q & A from the Audience”

Tamar Ross and James Kugel, “Video: Q & A from the Audience”

10 views

Tamar Ross, “Video: Jewish Thought & Jewish Thinkers” (25 May 2017)

Tamar Ross, “Video: Jewish Thought & Jewish Thinkers” (25 May 2017)

5 views

Tamar Ross, “Video: Conversation with Professor Yeshayahu Leibowitz,” (30 May 1993)

Tamar Ross, “Video: Conversation with Professor Yeshayahu Leibowitz,” (30 May 1993)

10 views

Tamar Ross, “Video: LGBTQ and the Future of Judaism” (14 September 2018) - part II

Tamar Ross, “Video: LGBTQ and the Future of Judaism” (14 September 2018)

36 views

70 Faces to Torah: TV program on Parshat Yitro, moderated by Yaron London, featuring Yirmiyahu Yuval and Tamar Ross

Interview on biblical themes in Parshat Yitro

4 views

Tamar Ross, “Video: The Impact of Feminism on Orthodox Theology,” (23 May 2013)

Tamar Ross, “Video: The Impact of Feminism on Orthodox Theology,” (23 May 2013)

6 views

PLENARY SESSION OF CONFERENCE ON FEMINIST THEOLOGY AND THE ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS - January 31, 2021

THE CHALLENGE OF FEMINISM TO JEWISH THEOLOGY

11 views

Tamar Ross, “Can One Choose to Believe? Response to Prof. Yehuda Gellman’s View of the Ontological Status of Religious Truth Statements,” Lecture Delivered at the Eighteenth World Congress of Jewish Studies, in Jerusalem, Israel (August 8-12, 2022)

Tamar Ross, “Navigating between Insider and Outsider Approaches to Religion: A Personal Account,” Lecture Delivered at the European Academy of Religion’s Sixth Annual Conference, St. Andrews, Scotland (June 19-23, 2023)

Despite the academic venue, I prefer to offer my remarks today in a more personal vein. As a chil... more Despite the academic venue, I prefer to offer my remarks today in a more personal vein. As a child born to Orthodox Jewish parents, God from the outset figured prominently in my daily life. In my early years, He felt somewhat like my father, only more so-a benign but also authoritative figure who expected me to strive to be as good a person as I possibly could. I do recall that around the age of eight I sometimes prayed that He would provide me with some tangible hint of His existence, send me a vision of a red thread dangling from the sky or something of the sort. But for the most part, trust in my religious way of life and belief system was natural, part of the air I breathed and took for granted, without much questioning. Waking up every morning and reciting the standard morning prayer of thanks to God for having faithfully returned my soul to me was a natural corollary of my Jewish identity. Performing mitzvot, the established religious norms of the past, was simply what Jews do. Beyond this, as a youngster attending public school in North America, the fact that I was Jewish, and even Orthodox, was also very much attached to the idea of borders, the notion that I differed from my surroundings, was part of a special people, and that God and truth were somehow on my side.

Tamar Ross, “Can We Educate Towards Jewish Loyalty and Commitment in the 21st Century?” Lecture Delivered at Jewish Education: Continuity for Creativity – Conference and Limmud in Memory of Prof. Michael Rosenak, at The Melton Centre for Jewish Education, Hebrew University (January 5, 2016)

Selected Presentations from: Jewish Education - continuity for creativity conference in memory of Prof. Michael Rosenak, 2016

Tamar Ross, “What Good is Communal Prayer?” in Aviad Hacohen and Menachem Butler, eds., Praying for the Defenders of Our Destiny: The Mi Sheberach for IDF Soldiers (Cambridge, MA: The Institute for Jewish Research and Publications, 2023), 522-528

Tamar Ross, “Does Religion Relate Truths or Direct the Heart? The Struggle between Religious Realism and Non-Realism – A Personal Account,” in Yoske’s Lesson: Students Continue His Path (Jerusalem: Ashmoret, 2023), 348-362 (Hebrew)

Tamar Ross, “Behind Every Revelation Lurks an Interpretation: Revisiting ‘The Revelation at Sinai’,” The Lehrhaus (2 May 2023)

An attempt to clarify my theology of revelation as against the more conservative approach adopted... more

Tamar Ross, “Epilogue to the Second Edition,” in Tamar Ross, *Expanding the Palace of Torah: Orthodoxy and Feminism*, second edition (Ramat-Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 2023), 420-473 (Hebrew)

Tamar Ross, “Feminism Changes the Study of Jewish Thought,” Tablet Magazine (17 December 2021)

Feminism Changes the Study of Jewish Thought Will belief in the divinity of Torah ever be reconci... more

Tamar Ross, “Epilogue to the Second Edition,” in Tamar Ross, *Expanding the Palace of Torah: Orthodoxy and Feminism*, second edition (Waltham, Massachusetts: Brandeis University Press, 2021), 250-276, 333-351

Epilogue to the Second Edition N early two decades have passed since this book first appeared in ... more Epilogue to the Second Edition N early two decades have passed since this book first appeared in 2004. The publication of this new edition invites revisiting what was formerly its final chapter ("Visions for the Future"), taking stock of what has transpired in the interim and reconsidering the extent to which my earlier assumptions regarding the path and destiny of halakhic feminism still hold true. Accomplishments The first thing to be said is that the role and halakhic status of women continues to be one of the most profound challenges confronting traditional Judaism. Perhaps for this reason, halakhic feminists themselves and their sympathizers, eager to evaluate current achievements and assess what still remains to be done, have engaged in an inordinate amount of "temperature taking" over the past several years. 1 My own report may appear unduly focused on the Israeli case, not coincidentally. Two factors contribute to this bias. First, of course, I am in Israel. Secondly, I believe that my original prognosis 2 has been borne out: the cultural powerhouse of halakic feminism, despite its Western political roots, is now here. 3 Immediate practical objectives Agunot and get refusal. There is no denying that Orthodox feminism has made great strides in accommodating the changing interests and sensibilities of halakhically committed women in today's world. The thorniest and most vexing problem in the eyes of many activists remains the plight of agunot. 4 Despite the dedicated work of agunah organizations such as ORA (Organization for the Resolution of Agunot) in the United States and Mavoi Satum, Yad La'i-sha, and the Center for Women's Justice in Israel, and despite mea

Tamar Ross, “R. Kook: A This-Worldly Mystic,” in Steven Kepnes, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Jewish Theology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020), 185-212

Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook [R. Kook] (1865[R. Kook] ( -1935 is arguably the most audacious, origina... more Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook [R. Kook] (1865[R. Kook] ( -1935 is arguably the most audacious, original, and profound thinker emerging from the ranks of Orthodox Judaism in the modern period. 1 His personal charisma, gentle piety, and intellectual prowess already achieved acclaim during his youth and the earlier years of his rabbinic career in Lithuania. During this time, he composed several legal and moral treatises, commentaries, and sermons, and contributed articles to rabbinic journals that occasionally engaged in the confrontation between traditionalism, influences of the Enlightenment, and nascent Zionist efforts toward national revival. However, the catalyst for the unique body of thought with which he is now predominantly associated was his decision to immigrate to Palestine in 1904, first accepting the position of religious authority of Jaffa and the surrounding Jewish settlements, and subsequently serving as Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Jerusalem and of all of British mandatory Palestine. These years were marked by an extraordinary flourishing of the spirit as evidenced in his spiritual diaries, which bear witness to an intensely rich inner life, suffused with a palpable sense of holiness and occasional mystic/prophetic experience, intensified even further during an intermittent period of exile in Europe where he was unexpectedly stranded due to the eruption of World War I.

Tamar Ross, “The Cognitive Value of Religious Truth Claims: Rabbi A.I. Kook and Postmodernism,” in Alon Goshen-Gottstein, ed., Religious Truth: Towards a Jewish Theology of Religions (Oxford: Littman Library, 2020), 133-176

Tamar Ross, “‘Expanding the Palace of Torah’,” in Michael Marmur and David Ellenson, eds., American Jewish Thought Since 1934: Writings on Identity, Engagement, and Belief (Waltham: Brandeis University Press, 2020), 62-65

was born in the United States in 1938 and has lived in Israel since her twenties. She received he... more was born in the United States in 1938 and has lived in Israel since her twenties. She received her degrees, including her doctorate, from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her teaching at Bar-Ilan University, at Midreshet Lindenbaum, and in a variety of academic and nonacademic settings, along with her writing, has earned her a prominent position in the discourse of Orthodox feminism both in Israel and in North America.

Tamar Ross, “Divine Hiddenness and Human Input: The Potential Contribution of a Postmodern View of Revelation to Yitz Greenberg’s Holocaust Theology,” in Adam S. Ferziger, et al., eds., Yitz Greenberg and Modern Orthodoxy: The Road Not Taken (Boston: Academic Studies Press, 2019), 107-128

T he challenges that biblical criticism and the atrocities of the Holocaust pose, respectively, t... more T he challenges that biblical criticism and the atrocities of the Holocaust pose, respectively, to traditional notions of revelation and theodicy are arguably the two greatest obstacles of our age to commonly accepted notions of Orthodox Jewish belief. Both involve the confrontation of metaphysical assertions with contrary empiric evidence of such scope or magnitude that all the usual tactics of religious apologetics appear inadequate. In the following essay, I would like to point to certain commonalities between an approach that I have been developing to the first issue and the response that Greenberg has been developing with regard to the second. I will then propose that some shortcomings in Greenberg's position (which he himself acknowledges) might be overcome if he were to adopt the implications of this parallelism in full.

Tamar Ross, “Orthodoxy and the Challenge of Biblical Criticism: Some Reflections on the Importance of Asking the Right Question,” in Tova Ganzel, Yehudah Brandes, and Chayuta Deutsch, eds., The Believer and the Modern Study of the Bible (Boston: Academic Studies Press, 2019), 263-287

Tamar Ross, “Religion and Secularization in a Postmodern Age – Political and Theological Perspectives,” De’ot, no. 79 (May-June 2017): 5-9 (Hebrew)

Deot, 2017

Tamar Ross, “Orthodox Israeli Feminists Meet Our American Cousins,” Tablet Magazine (8 March 2017)

My connection with Blu Greenberg spans four generations. As a child, I often heard her maiden nam... more My connection with Blu Greenberg spans four generations. As a child, I often heard her maiden name (Genauer) mentioned in my home with great fondness. This stemmed from a long-term friendship between our parents that began in the years that her father and mine had shared as students in the Yeshiva of R. Yitzhak Elchanan (which later morphed into Yeshiva University) and continued during my father's temporary stint as a teacher at the local Talmud Torah of Seattle, the Genauers' hometown. Two years ago, this connection resurfaced in unexpected fashion when I discovered that my 7-year-old granddaughter (Nogah Ross) and Blu's (Maayan Greenberg) are classmates in the same primary school in Jerusalem and have developed a similar relationship, totally unaware of the background family history. In between these generational ties, Blu and I have only had a few opportunities for direct personal interaction, and the paths of our own children have never really crossed. Nevertheless, it feels like the span of these sporadic points of contact, when taken in its entirety, represents in some way the saga of Modern Orthodoxy and its feminist offshoots.

Tamar Ross, “My Encounters with Blu Greenberg as a Reflection of the Odyssey of Orthodox Feminism,” in Devorah Zlochower, ed., You Arose, A Mother in Israel: A Festschrift in Honor of Blu Greenberg (New York: JOFA, 2017), 35-45

Tamar Ross, “Radical Feminism and a Theology of Jewish Autonomy: The Anatomy of an Unexpected Alliance,” Jewish Studies Quarterly, vol. 23, no. 4 (December 2016): 374-401

Tamar Ross, “On Interpretation, Feminism and the Importance of Distinctions and Dichotomies: A Response to David Ellenson,” Journal of Jewish Ethics, vol. 2, no. 2 (2016): 69-75

Tamar Ross, “Review of ‘Kookism’, by Gideon Aran,” in Eli Lederhendler, ed., A Club of Their Own: Jewish Humorists and the Contemporary World [=Contemporary Jewry, vol. 29 (2016)] (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016), 301-304

Tamar Ross, *Expanding the Palace of Torah: Orthodoxy and Feminism*, second edition (Ramat-Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 2023; Hebrew)

Tamar Ross, *Expanding the Palace of Torah: Orthodoxy and Feminism*, second edition (Waltham, Massachusetts: Brandeis University Press, 2021)

Tamar Ross, *Expanding the Palace of Torah: Orthodoxy and Feminism* (Tel Aviv: Am Oved, 2007; Hebrew)

Tamar Ross, *Expanding the Palace of Torah: Orthodoxy and Feminism* (Waltham, Mass: Brandeis University Press, 2004)

*A New Spirit in the Palace of Torah: Jubilee Volume in Honor of Professor Tamar Ross on the Occasion of her Eightieth Birthday*, eds. Dov Schwartz and Ronit Irshai (Ramat-Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 2018)

*Tamar Ross: Constructing Faith*, eds. Hava Tirosh-Samuelson and Aaron W. Hughes (Leiden: Brill, 2016)

Tamar Ross, “Moral Philosophy in the Writings of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter’s Disciples in the Musar Movement,” (PhD Dissertation, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1986; Hebrew)