Shira Hadasha, New Yeshiva

So this past Shabbat, I davened at Shira Hadasha, the egalitarian shul in Emek Refaim (German Colony - Moshava ha-Germanit), Jerusalem. Basically, the women can read from the Torah, whether the berakha on the Torah (i.e. aliyah to say "barechu") or reading from the Torah (ba'al koreh --> ba'alah korah), as the individual case may be. Actually, every time a man got an aliyah, a woman read, and every time a woman got an aliyah, a man read.

The justification for this is that the Gemara forbids women to read based on kavod ha-tzibur, the honor of the congregation. The commentaries explain that if a woman reads from the Torah, it impugns the men as being illiterate, that they cannot read themselves. But firstly, the men can waive their honor if they so choose. Second, since olim to the Torah don't read themselves anyway, their literacy is not impugned by a woman's getting an aliyah. (Of course, if a woman actually reads from the Torah herself, as a ba'alah korah, then the men's literacy may very well be impugned. But firstly, Shira Hadasha has both men and women reading, so apparently, the men are no less literate than the women. Secondly, as I said, the men can waive their own honor anyway.)

Women can also lead certain parts of the service, such as Kabbalat Shabbat or Pesukei Dezimra, i.e. parts that men aren't hayav (obligated) in. The shaliah tzibur (hazan, cantor, prayer leader) fulfills the obligation of those who listen to him and say amen, and there is a law that one can fulfill another's obligation only if (s)he is him/her-self obligated in that same obligation. Thus, if a man is obligated to say the Amidah and a woman is not, then a woman cannot fulfill the man's obligation. This limits the roles the women can fill, but nevertheless, anywhere where men and women's obligations are equal, Shira Hadasha allows the women to fulfill that obligation for men.

I must say, it was quite pleasant davening there. The women could sing to Kabbalat Shabbat with their full voices, just as the men do, without getting stoned or having acid thrown at them. Similarly, during the Mourner's Kaddish, the women answered with their full voices without being thrown out the windows. I could tell that the female congregants were able to act like normal human beings. If I'm not mistaken, women actually are fully-fledged humans themselves.

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Besides that, I've moved into my new yeshiva, Yeshivat Petah Tiqwa. I'm still settling in, and feeling a bit homesick, but things are going generally well.