The Real Deal: Susannah Heschel Orange on the Seder Plate

Haggadah Section: Introduction

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“Paradise,” by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1530.CreditCreditImagno/Getty Images

To the Editor:

Re “The Rise of God’s Spokeswomen” (column, April 1):

I appreciate Nicholas Kristof’s excellent column about the changes in women’s roles in our religions and his awareness that the issue is not merely equality of women, but also radical transformations of our religious practices and theological understandings, as the pioneering feminist theologian Mary Daly argued in 1973.

I’m delighted that so many people are now placing an orange on the Seder plate. But as the person who originated the custom out of solidarity with gay and lesbian Jews, I am concerned that Mr. Kristof cites an oral legend that the orange represents support for women in the pulpit.

The legend transfers credit for my idea to a man, erases the point of the custom (rejecting homophobia) and affirms what already exists (women  are  on the bimah) rather than demanding needed change.

Ordination of female clergy is a first step; there is much more we still need to accomplish.

SUSANNAH HESCHEL
HANOVER, N.H.

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