Belda Kaufman Lindenbaum

Belda Kaufman Lindenbaum
Baila Sara Bat Rivka V'Zeev Dov
Born	1938 2015
Organization(s)	JOFA, Drisha, Yeshivat Maharat, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, the American Friends of Bar-Ilan University, Ramaz School
Board member of	Ramaz School, Yeshivat Maharat, Yeshiva University
Spouse	Marcel Lindenbaum
Parent	Rita Kaufman (mother)
Relatives	Carol Kaufman Newman (sister), Judith Kaufman Hurwich (sister), Gerald Kaufman (brother), Nathan (son), Matthew (son), Bennett (son), Victoria Feder (daughter), and Abigail Lindenbaum Tambor (daughter)

(1938-2015)

Lindenbaum, her husband Marcel, and Shlomo Riskin co-founded Midreshet Lindenbaum, a post high school institute in Israel for students which combines service in the Israeli Defense Forces with religious studies (similar to the Hesder program for men).

Dina Brawer writes for The Times of Israel that, "Belda felt strongly that giving Jewish women and girls access to the highest level of Torah study was necessary for a thriving Jewish future. This motivated her, together with her husband Marcel and Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, to create Midreshet Lindenbaum."

In 2012 Terrence James Victorino wrote a book entitled Midreshet Lindenbaum about the formation of the school.

Lindenbaum and Marcel have also funded a series of lectures on the role of women in Judaism given by David Hartman at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Israel.

Lindenbaum "was a revolutionary leader, passionate advocate, knowledgeable in Torah and a staunch feminist. It is because of her vision that Torah has flourished and institutions, individuals and communities have grown in knowledge and commitment to Torah."

Lindenbaum served as a founding board member of Yeshivat Maharat, on the Board of Directors of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, a Board Member of Yeshiva University, President of the American Friends of Bar-Ilan University, a Board Member of Ramaz Day School, and a past President of the Drisha Institute of Jewish Education.

Lindenbaum and her husband Marcel are thanked in the Acknowlegments section of Jenna Weissman Joselit's 1990 book New York's Jewish Jews: The Orthodox Community in the Interwar Years.

The Shalom Hartman Institute writes, "Rabba Sara Hurwitz, dean of Yeshivat Maharat in Riverdale and a participant in the Hartman Institute's Rabbinic Leadership Initiative, was quoted as saying that Belda and Marcel Lindenbaum 'changed the course of the modern Orthodox community by building Jewish institutions where women’s Torah scholarship, authority and leadership have become part of the fabric of the Jewish communal landscape.'”

Family

Lindenbaum is the daughter of Rita and Benjamin Kaufman.

Lindenbaum has three siblings, Carol Kaufman Newman, Judith Kaufman Hurwich, and Gerald Kaufman.

Lindenbaum and her husband Marcel are the parents of five children, Nathan, Matthew, Bennett, Victoria Feder and Abigail Lindenbaum Tambor, all of whom are active participants in the Jewish community and 18 grandchildren.

Lindenbaum and her husband were mentioned in Guide to U.S. Foundations, Their Trustees, Officers, and Donors.

JOFA

In 1999 Lindenbaum setrved as the Vice President of Development and sat on the Board of Directors of JOFA, the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance, "a grassroots non-profit organization established in 1997 to educate and advocate for women's increased participation in Orthodox Jewish life and to create a community for women and men dedicated to such change."

Lindenbaum is featured in JOFA’s Mission Statement YouTube saying: “Orthodox shuls are some of the un-friendliest places in the world” and in regards to JOFA’s first International Conference of February 1997, “A crew came in together from St. Louis, another from Detroit. I think there was somebody from Alaska there. The nicest thing about it was, I didn’t feel lonely anymore.. We are 51% of the population, we’re important… We want to make change as we always say within halacha (in regards to the Agunah crisis), it’s halacha it has to move.”

On August 6 Lindenbaum attended the JOFA co-sponsored Modern Orthodox Siyum Hashas at Congregation Shearith Israel, which marked the completion of the twelfth cycle of daf yomi. She said, “I was very moved by the inclusion of women as participants in the evening...and by their role as a significant group of those who presented shiurim (classes)... I am very pleased that JOFA was one of the sponsors.”

Lindenbaum said, “My mother, myself, and my two daughters represent the ‘chut hameshulash,’ the threefold chain that cannot be broken, that chain of feminist thought and action which will extend to future generations until equity and justice for women become a Jewish religious norm.”

In February 1997 Lindenbaum attended JOFA’s “International Conference on Feminism and Orthodoxy: Exploring the Impact of Feminist Values on Traditional Jewish Women’s Lives.”

On December 19 of 2004 Lindenbaum attended JOFA's "From Strength to Strength: Shaping our Jewish Experience" regional conference in Baltimore, Maryland and lead the opening plenary, “Where Have You Come From and Where Are You Going? The Impact of the Women’s Movement on Contemporary Orthodox Life.”

Agunah Crisis

Lindenbaum commented on the Agunah crisis, “This is an issue that burns very deeply...There is no issue quite like agunot to make you second guess the ethical quality of the religion.”

Lindenbaum is quoted in an article for Forward entitled "Protesters Rally Outside a Home as Debate Continues Over Best Get Tactics" saying, “I support (ORA's) rallies, but there needs to be systemic change. Until there is systemic change from the rabbis, then the situation is going to continue...At JOFA, we’ve been working on this for the last 11 years, and sometimes we throw up our hands because we say, ‘What have we done?’Frankly, in a world that’s moving to the right, we’re not very hopeful.”

Yeshivat Maharat

Lindenbaum was on the Board of Directors of Yeshivat Maharat, the first yeshiva to ordain women as Orthodox clergy, which strives to offer an exceptional education in Jewish law and pastoral counseling, preparing it’s graduates to inspire and lead Orthodox communities.

On June 2 of 2016 at Yeshivat Maharat’s Semikha Ceremony, hosted at Ramaz Lower School, Lindenbaum was mentioned by Rabba Sara Hurwitz in her “A Message from the Dean speech,” in which she commented “It has been over a year since Belda Lindenbaum zt’l passed away-- there have been many days that I hear her voice in my head. I only hope that we are succeeding in fulfilling her dream of a more open minded, yet committed Orthodox Judaism.”

Death

Lindenbaum passed away in 2015.

In 2015 Hadran Alach, through Drisha Institute for Jewish Education, JOFA, Midreshet Lindenbaum, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School, and Yeshivat Mahara, invited visitors of their website to unite as organizations and individuals, to honor Lindenbaum through learning Torah in her memory.

In an article for Jewish Women's Archives Rabba Sara Hurwitz writes, "Because she was passionate about tradition, halakhah, and ritual, she refused to accept the status quo: that women were left out of our rich tradition. And so she transformed her anger into action and, together with her husband Marcel, changed the course of the modern Orthodox community by building Jewish institutions where women’s Torah scholarship, authority, and leadership have become part of the fabric of the Jewish communal landscape."

In an article entitled “Belda Lindenbaum, z”l: Our Founder and Superhero” for The JOFA Journal of the Spring of 2015 Laura Shaw-Frank wrote, “Nothing was impossible if Belda was involved. She was undauntable. Whether it was organizing a conference or a dinner, obtaining a large financial gift from a reluctant donor, or going to speak with an important rabbi about a controversial subject, Belda was the one you wanted on your side. Scholar, teacher, philanthropist, fundraiser, mentor, and leader, she lived her life with dignity, integrity, and vigor, always striving to chart a new and brighter future for Orthodox girls and women.”

Lindenbaum was honored at JOFA's 18th Anniversary Tribute Dinner in November 2015 in a video by Elena Lefkowitz.

in an article entitled “The Biggest Question: Whom to Ask?” for The JOFA Journal of the Spring of 2015 Judy Heicklen wrote, “Many of these programs (as well as JOFA itself) would not be here today without the vision, support, passion, and energy of Belda Lindenbaum, z”l. Our community is diminished by her loss. On a more personal note, I will miss her sharp sense of humor, her willingness to speak truth to power, and her friendship.”

June 29, 2015 the Shalom Hartman Institute held a study evening in Lindenbuam's memory at at Midreshet Lindenbaum.

Writing

In 2000 Lindenbaum published an article entitled “Two Funerals: A Look at How Times Have Changed” in the Orthodox Jewish Woman and Ritual Journal, where she compare her experiences mourning her father's death and her mother's death.

In Fall of 2000 Lindenbaum published an article entitled “Thanking God Who Has Made Me a Woman” in The JOFA Journal, where she discusses the ways ou “Attitudes towards women’s bodies” rape and sexual assault in Jewish communities.

In Fall of 2002 Lindenbaum published an article entitled “From Jerusalem Without Fear” in The JOFA Journal.

Lindenbaum’s essay “Personal Reflections: Zeh Pogea Bi”was featured on pages 155 and 156 of Yeshivat Maharat’s 2014 Keren: Volume II. In her essay she explores how “the view that women are given of themselves in Jewish text and Jewish communal life, leads them in many cases, to see themselves as irrelevant and not true spiritual beings.”

Lindenbaum's essay "A Sacrifice of Time" was published in Michal Smart's 2014 book Kaddish: Women's Voices from page 83 to 87.

In Fall of 2014 Lindenbaum published an article entitled “On Being a Sandakit” in The JOFA Journal, where she writes about being the sandakit at her grandsons Brit.