Ma’yan: The Jewish Women’s Project was established in 1993 at the Jewish Community Center in New York City. Founded by Barbara Dobkin and Eve Landau, the organization's work initially focused on creating life cycle and holiday rituals from a feminist perspective. From 1994 to 2005, Ma’yan held feminist Passover Seders in New York City, which had about 20,000 participants over the years. They also published "The Journey Continues," a Haggadah text to accompany the seders, which sold over 40,000 copies. Other Ma’yan programs included the Jewish Feminist Research Group, a monthly forum exploring the intersection of Jewish studies and feminist scholarship, educational events for adult women ranging from financial literacy to Torah study, and a Rosh Chodesh group. In 2005, they released “Listen to Her Voice,” a report from a nationwide study on gender and the Jewish Community.
Around 2005, Ma’yan shifted its focus towards advocating for Jewish girls and young women by providing social justice and leadership training for adolescent girls and educators. Their central program is the Research Training Internship, a fifteen month program in which teen girls learn about systems of oppression, power and privilege.
References: Nussbaum Cohen, D. (2005, April 16). "Feminist Seders Reach the Promised Land." New York Times.
