It has always disturbed me when the beauty and purity of Torah is weaponized against those who love Torah and trusted that the “ system” one was born into was indeed the only right way. 

For women born into charedi /yeshivish /chassidish families and communities, who start to question the system and the people/men who run it, the realization that all people are fallible, including fathers, teachers, and even Rabbis, is quite a conundrum. 

Torah learning for women has expanded since the time of Sara Schenirer in early 1900s Poland to today, where in-depth classes on almost every subject are studied and taught by women both in-person and online. The dialectic around the classic role of the Jewish woman as homemaker, wife, and mother, who supports her husband in learning and parnasa only, has also evolved. 

Women are blessed with being the foundations of the Jewish home and family. Yet there are many who have an innate desire for additional challenges both in the Torah world and in the secular professional domain. These women, like Sarah Schneier, are craving the intellectual stimulation of mastering a field of study.

It has been a slow but steady process for Frum girls to learn to balance the most important role of motherhood, serious careers, and Torah study.

Some girls are born to parents who support them and encourage them to pursue all their dreams and use all of the talents that they were entrusted with by the Almighty. Others are not so blessed and have to withstand tremendous parental, familial, and societal pressures and incur scorn and statements such as “Don’t be so smart; who’s going to want to marry you?“ 

I am in awe of the advances that have been made by religiously observant Jewish women since my youth decades ago. These advances have been astronomical, both in the spheres of Torah learning and in secular professions. What was once believed to be proper practice, minhag hamakom, has changed, and I believe that has been for the betterment of all members of the Jewish people, men and women alike. 

Last month, when Moti Leitner, a young Chassidic leader of the new, and in my opinion, exciting Charedi political party in Israel known as HaTzibur HaCharedi, proudly announced that Dr. Nechumi Yaffe will be third on the slate for the Knesset, and Ziva Glanz would fill the fourth slot on the list, I was overwhelmed with gratitude to Hashem for allowing me to see these inspiring, young, and brave Charedi women who know that they will face tremendous adversity. Both of these women have worked tirelessly to fix the problems that they have seen in society. They have faced adversity before, and they have taken it head-on. Neither will shy away from their mission, which is to build the most dynamic and successful Charedi world that Israel has ever seen.

Their stated goal is to heal the rift and bring a much-needed balm, not just to the Charedi community, and specifically the women of that community, but to the whole country and all of its people.  

Dr. Nechumi Yaffe is a Charedi Academic woman who is a wife and mother with advanced degrees from Hebrew U and Princeton. She is a trailblazer who bridges two very different worlds: the world of Charedi Judaism. and the world of Academia. 

Ziva Glanz, a resident of Mevaseret Zion, who is married and a mother of five, is CEO of the Sha’ar Group and founder of LaShuv, a network for the absorption of immigrants from Western countries. Among her other projects, she guides major international investors through Israeli bureaucracy, helping them bring their projects to fruition. 

On Shabbat, she’s a rebbetzin, organizing tischin for up to 200 boys from the yeshiva where her bekeshe-wearing husband is a mashgiach ruchani, or she spends her time hosting Roshei Yeshiva from all over the world. Glanz is also an Olah, someone who chose to make Israel her home. She was raised in Passaic, NJ, and made aliyah with her family in 2005. 

She has been involved with The Next Step, the Israeli association for amputees, since its first day. After losing an infant about a decade ago, she co-founded an international support group for bereaved Jewish mothers and worked with state authorities to change how bereaved parents are treated and how the registration and burial of infants are handled in Israel. She holds a master’s degree in public administration with a focus on government administration, and a bachelor’s degree in biology.

Both of these leaders are living proof that success in two very different worlds is possible simultaneously and that each one enhances the other. 

Families that teach this to their daughters are strengthening Am Yisrael.

When any parent, frum or otherwise, stifles their bright, inquisitive daughters and forces them to choose between one world and the other, between certain talents and the other, tragedies ensue. We have seen it happen so many times: children being alienated from parents, siblings, and the entire community because they were not allowed to self-actualize in the proper way that would be respectful of the Torah world, but also fulfilling for their own needs. This has become all too common. 

Dr. Yaffe and Rebbetzin Glanz are an inspiration to Jewish women everywhere.  

Just as Sarah Schneier was seen as a “rebel” in her day but is now, in hindsight, credited with revolutionizing Torah learning worldwide, so too will innovators like Dr. Yaffe and Rebbetzin Glanz be seen as revolutionizing the options open to Charedi women everywhere. 

We, the parents, grandparents, teachers, and community leaders, must be sensitive to the needs, talents, and dreams of each child, as Mishle teaches us: “Train children in the way they each ought to go; they will not swerve from it even in old age.” 

We must teach them to respect the Torah, but also follow their true and intended path. We also have to teach our sons to respect the aspirations of their future spouses and to teach both our sons and daughters to be proud Torah-committed Jews wherever they are and whatever career paths they choose, including if young women want to make their full-time occupation nurturing their children, and running and anchoring a Torah household. All the options, done well and properly, are Kiddush Hashem. 

There are smart leaders in the Charedi world; they know what the Torah demands of us. They need to be brave enough to loosen the grip of a political machine that sadly has lost its moorings. 

There is a groundswell movement taking place in the Charedi world – a demand for better education, better options for families, and a return to the knowledge that neither poverty nor separation from the larger Israeli society are Torah values. We are one people, and we are the children of Hashem and Bnei Melachim.  

Responsibility, partnerships, and leadership, these are age-old Torah values. We are witnessing the turning of a page for Charedim in Israel, Charedi men, Charedi women, and all of Klal Yisrael.

Just this past Friday, the HaTzibur Hacharedi party passed the electoral threshold for the first time in a poll conducted by Ynet that canvassed voters between the ages of 18-22. The party is gaining in popularity among young Charedi voters who are looking to build a better future for themselves. Young Charedim aren’t afraid anymore. According to the poll, one in three young Charedim is voting for “HaTzibur HaCharedi.”

The writer, Dr. Disa Sacks, grew up in Monsey, NY. She has been keenly concerned about the effects the Charedi issues are having in Israel. Since October 7th, she has been actively posting about it on X and Substack.