Despite an increase in qualitative studies on European Orthodox Judaism, much research has focused on what sets Orthodox Jews apart from the majority societies in which they live. Such research risks missing out on potential processes occurring within Orthodox Judaism. This may be why research on a major development in Orthodoxy - the shifting of gendered boundaries - is so sparse. This sparsity is placed in sharp contrast to the extent to which Orthodox circles are concerned about this development. The current research project thus explores Judaism's relationship to gendered rituals, from early rabbinic texts to recent halakhic rulings, through the prism of a marginal, contemporary group of Orthodox communities adopting egalitarian practices. By combining anthropological and Jewish approaches to the interpretation of knowledge and experience, it attempts to understand the dynamics and limits of gendered hierarchies in Judaism. The exploration serves as an anchor point for questioning broader issues related to gender, practice and marginalisation in the European religious landscape through time and text. The project conducts comparative ethnographic fieldwork in relevant communities that work to shift normative gendered boundaries within Orthodoxy. By doing so, they simultaneously challenge and reinforce existing gender dynamics in the Jewish ritual sphere. Nevertheless, these communities do not merely act in the present, but refer to a highly enduring corpus of texts, practices and traditions which have been paramount to Jewish identities for millennia. The project thus wishes, like its informants, to come closer to those frames of reference by engaging with them seriously. Through this interdisciplinary approach, this paper will discuss key issues raised in both the fieldwork and Jewish literature, including women's religious leadership, the embodiment of gendered rituals, and the employment of innovative practices for the formation of Jewish identities.