Mar 19, 2004 -- The role of Orthodox Jewish women today will highlight an April 18 discussion sponsored by Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women. The lecture, “Breaking New Ground: Orthodox Women in the 21st Century,” will take place at 8 pm at YU’s Geraldine Schottenstein Cultural Center, 239-241 East 34th Street in Manhattan. The event is the second in a seven-part lecture series celebrating Stern College’s jubilee. The panel discussion features Rivkah Lubitch, a Toenet Rabbinit (legal advocate for women seeking a religious divorce writ), and Shani Taragin, a Yoetzet Halakhah (religious advisor in matters of family purity) and lecturer at MATAN, the Women’s Institute for Torah Studies in Jerusalem, Israel. The presenters reflect a new era of increased participation by women in Jewish legal matters – roles traditionally reserved for men. They will discuss areas of Jewish law affecting women and their religious obligations in a changing world. The lecture is co-sponsored by Dr. Marcia Robbins-Wilf, founder of Stern College’s Dr. Marcia Robbins-Wilf Scholar-in-Residence Program and a founding SCW board member. Upcoming lectures will include democracy and religion in Israel, medical ethics and halakhah (Jewish law), and the challenges confronting modern Orthodox families and women. Co-chairs of the lecture series are Stern College alumnae Debbie Niderberg ’86 and Cali Orenbuch ‘85. Sharon Herzfeld, MD, ’88, and Susan Ungar-Mero, MD, ’87, also Stern graduates, are co-chairing the college’s yearlong jubilee celebration. For more information on future lectures and other Stern-at-50 events, call 212-340-7862, or e-mail rentas@yu.edu. Admission to the lectures is free, although advanced reservations are required. Online registration is also available at www.yu.edu/sternjubilee.