The Kohenet movement is a Jewish feminist religious movement. "Kohenet" () is a Mishnaic Hebrew term used to describe the daughter of a kohen (a priest in the Temple in Jerusalem), as well as a title given to members of the Kohenet movement who have undergone ordination. The group, and its original organizing body, the Kohenet Institute, were founded in 2005 by Rabbi Jill Hammer and Taya Shere. The program began offering ordination—or semikhah () in normative Judaism—in 2006. The movement has sometimes been accused of paganism or heresy due to its use of the term "priestess" and its view of God as feminine. Some describe it as belonging to a broader movement called "Goddess Judaism", though not all adherents view the divine as a woman (some instead see God as non- or multi-gendered).
Beliefs The kohenets' beliefs are primarily based on components of Kabbalah, Jewish feminism, and ecotheology, as well as branches of liberal Judaism. There are also some generalized influences from modern online spiritual practices, such as some kohenets building altars with devotional objects (e.g., rocks, candles, and photos of dead relatives) to help them focus during prayer. For the kohenets, this is connected to the setting of the Shabbat table (with food and candles), as well as to the bamot () and altars in the Mishkan (), Temple, and surrounding region. The bamot and Mishkan are ancient practices not continued today, as King Josiah and King Hezekiah ended Israelites' cult activities outside the Temple during their reigns. There is also some influence from other religions and Near Eastern myths, and pre-Rabbinic Judaism.
Rabbi Hammer, before starting the movement, faced frustrations with other Jews, especially women, for emphasizing heteropatriarchal views of God. For example, she recalled an incident in which a woman declared that "God could not be a woman", because she—God—would be incapable of enforcing morality. In her rabbinical training at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, which is affiliated with Conservative Judaism, Hammer found an absence of specifically female perspectives in many areas. However, she also developed an interest in midrashim (; ) focusing on women, and realized there was a clear tradition of women serving as community spiritual leaders throughout Jewish history. Shere encountered similar resistance to Jewish feminine perspectives on God, joining other religious movements that centered women more—including Candomblé—before returning to Judaism. Many kohenets feel that egalitarian Judaism (i.e., Conservative Judaism, Reform Judaism, Reconstructionist Judaism, and some post-denominational Judaisms) has not gone far enough in addressing patriarchy. The movement also tries to provide affirmation and openness to queer Jews and Jews of color.
Jewish meditation, movement, and music are major elements of kohenet rituals. Innovation of ritual and theology is welcomed. Drums are often used to accompany prayer and chanting, coming both from liberal Judaism's contemporary allowance of musical instruments in prayer and in reference to female ritual drummers in Jewish scripture. Members of the movement frequently take on new names. Kohenet members undergo Jewish ritual washing in (; ), observe Shabbat and study the Torah weekly as other Jewish groups do. They are encouraged by the movement literature to do the traditional prayers regularly and rejuvenate their connection to them. It is primarily open to women and non-binary people, but men also take part in events.
The Kohenets (as part of an earth-based approach) place importance on the four elements, connecting them to the four worlds sometimes found in Jewish mysticism (assiyah, yetzirah, beriyah, and atzilut) as well as the four parts of the self (body, heart, mind, spirit). This is derived from Kabbalistic literature. However, they differ in that, rather than seeing the worlds as progressing from highest to lowest (the traditional view), they are seen as interlocking circles of equal importance. Each element is commonly invoked or incorporated into Kohenet rituals.
God is understood as whatever gender an individual in the movement identifies God with. Feminine names for God used in the movement include Havaya (Being), Shaddai (Almighty, but also indirectly refers to breasts), Immah (Mother), Tzimtzemai (the One who Makes Space, derived from a Babylonian Talmud passage implying this is another name for the Shekinah), Malkat haShamayim (Queen of Heaven), Asherah, Chokhmah (Wisdom), Etz Chayyim (Tree of Life), and more. Gender neutral terms like Ma’yan Chayim (Wellspring of Life), Ruach (Divine Wind), and Yah (Divine Breath) are also used, and masculine terms like Adonai (Lord) and Melekh (King) see some use as well. All of these names are generally understood as referring to the same being. Sometimes God is, however, conceived of as having multiple faces in a manner derived from the Kabbalist tradition.
While the use of the name Asherah in particular draws controversy because it is the name of a rival Canaanite goddess, Kohenets point out that El is also the name of a Canaanite god who rivaled the Jewish God. Yet, it is seen as acceptable to "El" as a name for God. Generally, Kohenets do not worship a separate goddess when they use "Asherah", but recognize "Asherah" as one of the many divine names.
The idea of "priestess" is part innovation and part based on obscured examples of female sacred service, such as the tzavot, who are known to have served at the entrance of the mishkan but are not described in any further detail. Hammer believes these roles were gradually obscured, with the first exile of 586 BC dealing a major blow to them. She compares the suppression and loss of female spiritual roles to that of the letter ghayin; a letter symbolizing the "ng" sound (still extant in Arabic) that fell out of use in the early biblical period, supplanted by the ayin, and which probably resembled a twisted cord. Letters have a particular significance in Judaism, with some believing the only thing God revealed to Moses and the people at Mount Sinai was the letter aleph. The letter, to Hammer, represents the suppressed voice of the prophetess, and claims that before she knew of its existence, she dreamed she gave a lecture on a missing Hebrew letter symbolizing "ng", and the attendant theological implications. This led her to research and confirm the reality of her dream.
The movement literature draws on archeology and historical analysis regarding the presence of things like Asherah poles in the Jerusalemite Temple for most of its existence to argue for a modern re-acceptance of women in clerical roles and goddess imagery. Additionally, the Talmud mentions that women in the priestly caste received priestly offerings and were allowed to eat sacred food, though they could not perform temple rites. It also discusses the bamot (high places) as acceptable worship sites in the absence of a temple (which also existed alongside the temple until Hezekiah). At the Bamot, it was permissible to ordain women into religious service. They cite Tzipporah (acting to save Moses during their journey to Egypt from a spiritual attack), Miriam (a Levite and holder of the title neviah), and Deborah as named figures who fill a priestess or prophetess role in scripture. Francesca Sarah of Safed (who had sacred visions), Rebbetzin Malka of Belz, Hannah Rachel Werbermacher (both Hasidic figures), and Colette Alboulker-Moscat (a Kabbalist) are cited as more recent historical examples.
Ordination Base ordination consists of four retreats over 18 to 24 months. Students are given the title tzovah, meaning "keeper of sacred space and time". This course of study is called "Netivot" and introduces one to the priestess paths, praying, and ritual construction in the kohenet way.
To become a kohenet, one undertakes an additional year and a half of study, during which the 13 priestess paths come into sharper focus. These are based on female archetypes found in Jewish culture and literature: Maiden, Mother, Matriarch, Midwife, Wise Woman, Mourning Woman, Prophetess, Shrinekeeper, Shamaness, Seeker, Lover, Fool, and Weaver. Each kohenet is ordained in a specific path. Each priestess and path is sometimes understood as a microcosm of God(ess). The identification of these paths is partly based on the book "The Women's Wheel of Life", which also identified 13 spiritual archetypes for women. 13 may also have been chosen for the number of full moons in a year. Each path is connected to a month of the Jewish year. This course of study is called "Kedeishot". The full ordination takes three years, and has three additional retreats. As of 2021, there were around 100 graduates of the Kohenet Institute, including some based outside the US. Currently, Beit Kohenet does not have an ordination course, but plans to reinstitute one in the future. Ordination has been noted as less expensive and difficult to manage when compared to rabbinical school.
While many kohenets teach, study Torah, officiate at funerals, house blessings, healing ceremonies, pilgrimages, harvest rituals, weddings, serve as chaplains, or are dually ordained as rabbis, there are currently no kohenet-specific synagogues. There also is no conversion process to specifically become a Jew under the Kohenet movement, as there is for Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist and Orthodox Judaism.
The Priestess Paths The maiden (nara'ah) is typified by Rebeccah, Miriam when watching over Moses' basket, the maidens who dance at the sacred shrine of Shiloh to celebrate the harvest, a servant of Wisdom, and the daughters of Tzelafchad. It represents presence, action, and fellowship. The movement also references how various Jews throughout time have viewed Shabbat as a virgin daughter. In the Psalms, it is mentioned that alamot (young girls/women) beat drums in Temple processions to announce military victory. The movement also connects several passages discussing maiden dancers and drummers in vineyards, juxtaposed with priests, as potentially referencing some ritual performed by maidens, particularly on Tu b'Av and Yom Kippur.
The mother (eim) is represented by Sarah, Leah, Hagar, Yocheved, Batya, as Hannah, and Naamah, Noah's wife. It represents love, nurturing, and compassion. The name of God, "El Shaddai" can translate as God of Breasts, and implies nursing imagery. It is also noted that in the movement literature, most named Nazirites are women, particularly mothers or those trying to become mothers. Nazirite vows involve stipulations similar to the Levite priests. The lighting of Shabbat candles (often done by mothers) is also given significance here, especially as many historical tkhine (Yiddish personal prayers) used for it compare women to priests. Also significant are birth rituals that connect women to the synagogue through the use of parochets and keys.
The matriarch or queen (gevirah) is represented by Sarah, the Queen of Sheba, the queen mother Maacah, Esther, Vashti, Judith and Yael. It represents strength, power, warriorhood, and guardianship. It is partly based on the idea that the queen mothers of ancient Judea had religious authority similar to other Near Eastern cultures, where queen mothers served as priestesses (particularly to mother goddesses, like Asherah). These queen mothers also had sway over the line of succession and were compared to lionesses. Also relevant are the ritual guardians who stood at the gates of the Temple sanctuary and today watch over the dead and newlyweds, and the description of the Shekinah as a warrior queen in Kabbalistic literature.