Malka Bina
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Malke Bina is the founder and first teacher of
Matan Women's Institute for Torah Studies The Matan Women's Institute for Torah Studies (, an abbreviation of , ''Machon torani l’nashim'') is an Israeli Midrasha dedicated to teaching the Talmud and other rabbinic literature to women. The Institute was established in 1988 by Malke Bina, ...
. She has a master's degree in
Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.
Hebrew: ''Tān ...
from
Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universit ...
. She is married to a rabbi (who serves on Matan's Council of Rabbis) and is called by the term
Rabbanit Rebbetzin ( yi, רביצין) or Rabbanit ( he, רַבָּנִית) is the title used for the wife of a rabbi—typically among Orthodox, Haredi, and Hasidic Jews—or for a female Torah scholar or teacher. Etymology The Yiddish word has a ...
, which is less common in Modern Orthodox circles. Bina does not consider herself a rabbi and, at a 2004 conference of Orthodox Jewish Feminists, emphasized her focus on Talmud study. She was interviewed by
JOFA Jofa, originally short for ''Jonssons Fabriker'' (Jonsson's Factories) is a maker of sporting equipment for sports such as ice hockey, bandy, and horseback riding, based in Malung, Sweden. History Niss Oskar Jonsson founded Jofa in 1926. It can b ...
in 2006 and serves on its Council of Advisers. She also pioneered women's reading of
Megillat Esther The Book of Esther ( he, מְגִלַּת אֶסְתֵּר, Megillat Esther), also known in Hebrew as "the Scroll" ("the Megillah"), is a book in the third section (, "Writings") of the Jewish ''Tanakh'' (the Hebrew Bible). It is one of the f ...
on
Purim Purim (; , ; see Name below) is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jews, Jewish people from Haman, an official of the Achaemenid Empire who was planning to have all of Persia's Jewish subjects killed, as recounted in the Boo ...
. In 2022, Bar Ilan University awarded Bina with an honorary doctorate.


Education

Bina attended a
Bais Yaakov Bais Yaakov ( he, בית יעקב also Beis Yaakov, Beit Yaakov, Beth Jacob or Beys Yankev; lit., House fJacob) is a genericized name for full-time Haredi Jewish elementary and secondary schools for Jewish girls throughout the world. Bais Yaak ...
school in Baltimore where she did not study
Mishna The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...
or
Gemara The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemo(r)re; from Aramaic , from the Semitic root ג-מ-ר ''gamar'', to finish or complete) is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah w ...
. Immediately after the
Six Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...
Bina went to Israel to attend the
Jerusalem Michlala This is a list of universities and colleges in Israel. As of August 2021, there are ten universities and 53 colleges in Israel, which are recognized and academically supervised by the Council for Higher Education in Israel. In addition, Israel foun ...
, where she studied
Mishna The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...
, “and felt that it was a pity not to further expand my learning, now that I had been given a taste of the subject. I also thought that I would learn Gemara in the future. If it was available, why shouldn’t women do it?” After meeting her husband, Rabbi Aharon Bina and moving to America, Bina completed a Masters program in Bible and History at
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at
Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universit ...
in 1972. It was in this program that she learned various ''sugyot'' of
Gemara The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemo(r)re; from Aramaic , from the Semitic root ג-מ-ר ''gamar'', to finish or complete) is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah w ...
.


MaTaN

Rabbanit Bina is the Founder and Director of MaTaN, an innovative institution dedicated to furthering women's Torah study, paving the way for them to learn Talmud, Tanakh and Halakha at the highest levels, in a vibrant atmosphere that is open to diverse spiritual and intellectual perspectives. She says, “My goal was to open up an institution B”H that would welcome any woman who wanted to come to study. The dream was not just to provide adult education for women, including high level Talmud studies, but to create a strong beit midrash that would be a wellspring for future female religious leaders...We wanted the learning at MaTaN to be a mainstream activity for post high school religious women who would devote themselves to Torah Lishma (Torah for its own sake), not necessarily for a degree. I consider that it took 10 years for MaTaN to become mainstream and no longer be peripheral. Originally there were 4 to 6 women in the beit midrash. Now we have 22 women in a three-year Talmud program, and 20 in the Tanakh program. These are women from other areas of study who spend between one to three years at MaTaN...The emphasis at MaTaN is on study as a religious act, but always combined with high intellectual goals...At MaTaN we try to stress that learning should be new and fresh and exciting every day—the stress on hayom (today).” On August 1 while 90,000 Jews celebrated Siyum HaShas, the completion of the daily learning of the entire Gemara, at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium “a significantly smaller, but just as intriguing group celebrated the event in skirts, scarves and a spirit of sisterhood in Jerusalem.” The group of women were from MaTaN and Rabbanit Bina told the ''Jewish Press'', “Baruch Hashem, we were able to finish the Shas… There were 15 completers for Siyum HaShas from Matan, about 30 women from all over Israel…some of the women were crying...It was beautiful. .” Rabbi Mike Feuer, Educational Director of Yeshivat Sulam Yaakov in Nachlaot, told the ''Jewish Press'', “ eaching women Torahis definitely not the definition of the issur (prohibition] any longer…The world has shifted...This just needs to happen – it’s not forbidden even if it may not be recommended traditionally... I see a place like Matan as trying to carve out a space of respect for women’s Torah… The playing field on which men win each other’s respect is the Gemara, and this is the expression of old school feminism, which is that a woman ought to be able to do what a man does.” When asked why women should study Talmud Bina Responded, “Why not? It’s an integral part of what Torah is – the written law and the oral law. You write and you speak, why shouldn’t we be active participants in the oral law? It’s not logical...In earlier times, when women were less educated, and socioeconomy didn’t permit, it wouldn’t fit in with what was happening in the big picture of the world. But the world is changing...Torah also wasn’t permitted, until Rav Shimshon Refael Hirsch and the Chofetz Chaim opened it up for women. That led to the opening of the Beis Yaakov movement… Now oral law has become available.”


JOFA

Bina is on the Advisory Council 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. Bina was interviewed by Rachelle Isserow in an article entitled “Creating New Leaders: Interview with Malke Bina, Founder and Director of MaTaN” which was published in ''The JOFA Journal'' of the Winter of 2006. In the interview Bina discussed how and why MaTaN was founded, its mission, and its plan for the future. Bina attended JOFA's “Second International Conference on Feminism and Orthodoxy: Exploring the Impact of Feminist Values on Traditional Jewish Life” in In February 1998 and JOFA's “Fifth International Conference on Feminism & Orthodoxy: Zachar u’Neqevah Bara Otam: Women and Men in Partnership” in February 2004.


Honors and awards

Bina has received the following awards: *In 2002 Bina received the Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization of America, Hadassah Women's prize for her important work, along with Shoshana Damari and Orah Namir. *In 2006 Bina received the
Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...
from Yeshiva University for her work in teaching Torah to women, aliyah, education and social services. *In 2008 Bina was honored as Emunah's Woman of the Year. *In 2014 Bina received the
Bonei Zion Prize The Sylvan Adams Bonei Zion Prize ( he, פרס בוני ציון; Translation: ''Builders of Zion Prize'') is awarded annually by the Nefesh B'Nefesh organization to formally recognize the achievements of outstanding Anglo immigrants and their con ...
."Western immigrants honored at Knesset award ceremony"
''Israel National News''.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bina, Malke American Modern Orthodox Jews Living people Yeshiva University alumni Bonei Zion Prize recipients Year of birth missing (living people) Orthodox Jewish feminists