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Overview
Early
Influences
Establishing
a Reputation
"The
Maiden in the Temple"
Breaking
Down Barriers
Career
of a Lady Preacher
The
First Woman Rabbi?
Jewish
Women's Congress
Paradoxical
Positions
Marriage
and New Directions
Later
Years
Legacy
Timeline
Bibliography
Artifacts
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Artifacts
Sorted by Source
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Jewish
Women's Congress
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When Hannah
Greenebaum Solomon and her colleagues
began to organize the 1893 Jewish
Women's Congress, held in conjunction
with the Chicago World's Fair, their eye fell
naturally on Frank. With the Congress being the
first occasion on which Jewish women gathered in
large numbers specifically as Jewish women, the
organizers knew they would be representing Jewish
womanhood to both the Jewish community and society
as a whole. They assembled a group of
nationally-known figures who could speak
effectively on a broad range of subjects of
historical and contemporary relevance to Jewish
women. As a delegate, Frank took her place among
the most illustrious women in American Jewry.
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Appropriately, Frank acted as the Congress's
spiritual leader, delivering the opening prayer and
the final benediction. In her paper "Woman
in the Synagogue," she presented a
subtle but effective argument in favor of Jewish
women's emancipation. While praising highly Jewish
women's traditional roles as wives and mothers, she
also emphasized women from Jewish history whose
activities went beyond the norm. By stressing that
learned women in leadership roles have always been
part of the Jewish experience, Frank both validated
her own actions and hoped to inspire her listeners
to greater study and involvement. "Women of the
nineteenth century!" she cried. "These are
but a few names from among the many on the old
grave stones, testifying to the splendid work done
for the synagogue by women, at a time when
obstacles made up their lives....
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But enough has been given to disprove all
doubts as to the Jewish woman's capability in
religious matters, both as pupil and
instructor...."
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The Jewish Women's Congress and the National
Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) that emerged from it
were part of a much broader transformation
in American Jewish women's roles that
occurred in the 1890s. Frank was strongly committed
to the NCJW, a national body to facilitate Jewish
women's education and activity. After working to
establish a branch in Oakland in the 1890s, she
remained involved with her local branch for the
rest of her life.
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How to Cite This Page
For a bibliography:
Jewish Women's Archive. "JWA - Ray Frank - Jewish Women's Congress." <http://jwa.org/exhibits/wov/frank/jwc.html>.
For a footnote:
Jewish Women's Archive, "JWA - Ray Frank - Jewish Women's Congress," <http://jwa.org/exhibits/wov/frank/jwc.html>.
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