This past Shabbat, a young woman volunteered to deliver one of the weekly text studies in our shul. In honor of Tu Bishvat, she led us through sources she had studied about the significance of trees in Torah and midrash. Six months ago she had celebrated her Bat Mitzvah with a women’s tefilah service and by delivering a drash. We were all amazed by her poise during that celebration, and we were proud of the openness of our community to some innovation. But this past Shabbat was particularly moving for me. Beyond creating an inclusive and empowering lifecycle moment for this young woman and her family six months ago, this past week, our community proclaimed that her voice was welcome and that her ideas deserved a platform. I smiled, watching her confidently share her thoughts, and seeing the younger girls look up to her, maybe envisioning themselves in her place one day.

While there are times when I wish my community could be more progressive in terms of ritual inclusion, I am aware that in small Jewish communities, even progressive Orthodox synagogues must often serve a broad spectrum of Jews. In many of these communities, where maintaining and strengthening unity is of vital importance, ritual innovation is not the be all and end all of feminism. Our challenge is to find ways, beyond ritual inclusion, to welcome women’s voices, scholarship and leadership and to convey to young women, and to all who attend our synagogues, that everyone truly counts.