When the Synagogue Is Turned into a Delivery Room: Embracing Gender and Sexual Bodily Experiences through a Kabbalistic Renewal Custom

התחדשות יהודית התנועה הרפורמית טקסים פמיניזם שבועות תיקון ליל שבועות

This ethnographic study explores how women in Israeli Reform congregations reinterpret the traditional Kabbalistic custom of Tikkun Leil Shavuot as a space for processing gendered and sexual bodily experiences. Ben-Lulu examines how these "renewal" ceremonies incorporate Torah study alongside New Age bodily gestures and artistic performances, creating a unique "religious-feminine performance." The research argues that this ritual framework allows participants to engage in a dialogue with sacred texts and their own bodies, providing a platform to address painful memories, challenge heteronormative social norms, and find communal validation for complex emotions like guilt and self-acceptance. By transforming the synagogue into a metaphorical "delivery room," these women reclaim traditional rituals to affirm their contemporary identities and bodily autonomy within a liberal Jewish context.