I’ve had a love-hate relationship with conferences since the first GA I attended as a Hillel delegate while I was in graduate school nearly ten years ago. However, I have nothing but love and admiration for JOFA, so missing the conference is a very sad reality for me.
It would absolutely be the highlight of my year to be able to spend a day networking with other Orthodox Feminists, making face-to-face connections with people I’ve interacted with online, thanking the staff and board members of JOFA in person for their amazing work, and attending a variety of sessions to which I feel a strong personal tie.
As a woman saying kaddish, I would find the panel on kaddish inherently interesting and relevant to me.
As a recovered anorexic, I would find the panel on eating disorders extremely important to me.
As a woman who is pregnant with her first child, I find the session on naming ceremonies for baby girls is enticing.
As a blogger, I have much to contribute in the session on blogging
As someone who learns Halacha and Talmud, I wish I could be part of the sessions addressing assorted halachic issues and women’s learning and leadership
Agunot, Israel, education, mkvaot… I could go on and on through most of the sessions being offered, and how they resonate with me personally. Even if I was able to attend the conference, I would have had a horrible time selecting just one session in each time slot to attend!
However, I’m currently living and learning in Israel, and regardless of how much I love JOFA and this conference, it was just not feasible to fly to America for one amazing day. So I will rely on the hashtag to follow along on Twitter and this blog to read other people’s shared reactions to the experience. I will have to live vicariously through the amazing men and women who get to be there and look forward to the day when I will join them.
Do you wish you were able to attend the JOFA conference? Well JOFA has one word for you: Livestreaming. Click here to find out how you can be at the conference from the comfort of your own living room!
halachic
Pronounced: huh-LAKH-ic, Origin: Hebrew, according to Jewish law, complying with Jewish law.
