Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 16:1 (Winter 2002)
Article: The Place Of Women In First-Century Synagogues: They Were Much More Active In Religious Life Than They Are Today.
Author: Shmuel Safrai

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PP 14:1 (Winter 2002) p. 9

The Place Of Women In First-Century Synagogues: They Were Much More Active In Religious Life Than They Are Today.

Shmuel Safrai

Now retired, Shmuel Safrai was professor of Jewish History of the Mishnaic and Talmudic Period at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel. This article first appeared in Jerusalem Perspective in October 1993 and is repinted with permission .

Today, public worship can take place in a synagogue only if at least ten adult Jewish males are present. Women do not qualify as part of this quorum. Furthermore, women are separated from men within the synagogue: women worship in an ezrat nashim, a balcony or section with a divider located beside or behind the men’s section. Things were considerably different in Jesus’ day.

In the time of Jesus there was no separation of the sexes in the synagogue1 and women could be counted as part of the ten individuals needed for a religious quorum. This allowed women to be much more active in the religious life of the community than they are today.

The “Ten”

According to halachah, in order to have a congregation or Edah , a minimum of ten persons must be present. Boaz gathered ten elders of Bethlehem to witness the legal transaction that gave him possession of the land that belonged to Naomi, and Ruth the Moabitess as his wife.2 By the first century c.e. it was established that every public or official religious gathering must have ten persons. Therefore, public or congregational prayer could not be conducted without that minimum presence.

The Mishnah preserves the ruling concerning this required minimum number:

If there are less that ten present, the congregation may not recite the Shema with its benedictions, nor may one go before the ark [to lead the prescribed congregational prayers], nor may priests lift up their hands [in pronouncing the blessing],3 nor may one read the portion of the Torah or the Prophets, nor may one observe the stations [when burying the dead]4 or say the mourners’ benediction or the mourners’ consolation, or the benediction over newlyweds, nor may one mention the name of God in the invitation to recite the blessing after the meal. Also [the redemption value of dedicated] immovable property [is assessed] by nine and a priest, and similarly, [the valuation vow5] of a person. (Megillah 4:3)

The importance of this religious quorum ...

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