"lies somewhere in the conflict between being a woman and being a Jew and in the necessity of combining the two in as yet unknown ways…… We are here."
This statement is said by the narrator when she is delivering a speech at the First Jewish Conference in the year 1973. According to the narrator, the individuality of Jewish feminists is conflicted with being a woman and a Jew. Consequently, Jewish women are not accorded equal treatment as opposed to their male counterparts. During her speech, she receives an applause for standing firm to fight for the rights of women a time when male dominance was the order of the day. The narrator says confidently that women are here to stay and their rights to equal access to opportunities must be respected.
“Because a secular movement for the liberation of women has made it imperative to raise certain Jewish issues now, because we will not allow ourselves be defined as Jewish women in ways in which we cannot allow ourselves to be defined as women”
The narrator is saying these words to disregard the Jewish traditions that subject women to the mercy of men. According to the Jewish traditions, a woman was created from the man's rip and she is supposed to be an aid to the man. The narrator thinks that this narrative that women must be subjected to traditions whenever they demand equal treatment is baseless. She argues that women are human beings and should never be treated as lesser beings. Consequently, the narrator is expounding that women will go against the Jewish traditions to demand what is rightful for them. Therefore, women should not be defined in ways which they do not acknowledge but instead should be defined in ways they accept.
“Chained Women”
The narrator says the statement of chained women to refer to the evils of Judaism against women. According to the narrator, it is theologically unethical to treat women as chained creatures who do not have a voice of their own. She raises the question of the religious authority to classify women as purely men's helpers. The assumption that women are just helpers of men has subjected the Jewish female into slavery.
