Women and Judaism: New Insights and Scholarship

Published by New York University Press 2009

Women and Judaism

New Insights and Scholarship

Edited by: Frederick E. Greenspahn

Volume 5 in the series Jewish Studies in the Twenty-First Century

https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9780814732182.001.0001

Overview
Contents

About this book

Although women constitute half of the Jewish population and have always played essential roles in ensuring Jewish continuity and the preservation of Jewish beliefs and values, only recently have their contributions and achievements received sustained scholarly attention. Scholars have begun to investigate Jewish women’s domestic, economic, intellectual, spiritual, and creative roles in Jewish life from biblical times to the present. Yet little of this important work has filtered down beyond specialists in their respective academic fields. Women and Judaism brings the broad new insights they have uncovered to the world.
Women and Judaism communicates this research to a wider public of students and educated readers outside of the academy by presenting accessible and engaging chapters written by key senior scholars that introduce the reader to different aspects of women and Judaism. The contributors discuss feminist approaches to Jewish law and Torah study, the spirituality of Eastern European Jewish women, Jewish women in American literature, and many other issues.
Contributors: Nehama Aschkenasy, Judith R. Baskin, Sylvia Barack Fishman, Harriet Pass Freidenreich, Esther Fuchs, Judith Hauptman, Sara R. Horowitz, Renée Levine, Pamela S. Nadell, and Dvora Weisberg.

Author / Editor information

Greenspahn Frederick E. :

Frederick
E. Greenspahn is Gimelstob Eminent Scholar of
Judaic Studies at Florida Atlantic University.
He is the editor of The Hebrew
Bible, Women in Judaism, Jewish Mysticism and Kabbalah, and Contemporary Israel, as well as
author/editor of numerous other titles, including When Brothers Dwell Together.

Reviews

Rabbi David Wolpe,author of Why Faith Matters:
These essays shine a clear and helpful light, enabling the reader to watch women from the time of the Bible onward step out from the shadows of history. An enriching and enlivening collection.

Dr. Ellen Frankel,CEO and Editor-in-Chief, The Jewish Publication Society:
In clear language accessible to lay readers, each informed essay provides tantalizing glimpses of the newly discovered lives of Jewish women, past and present. This volume offers a cogent and nuanced overview of current scholarship, outlining its broader implications for the field of Jewish Studies and setting the stage for future research. Ideal for both the university classroom and adult study.

K. Hannah Holtschneider:
The volume (Women and Judiasm)functions well for teaching, offering overview essays of recent scholarly developments and case studies of particular sources and genres.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Introduction: Four Approaches to Women and the Jewish Experience Judith R. Baskin Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Part I Classical Tradition
1 Jewish Feminist Approaches to the Bible Esther Fuchs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	23
2 Women and Torah Study in Aggadah Dvora E. Weisberg Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	41
3 Women and Jewish Law Judith Hauptman Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	64
4 Women in Medieval Jewish Societies Renée Levine Melammed Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	91
5 The Mystical Spirituality of Eastern European Jewish Women Chava Weissler Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	116
6 How Central European Jewish Women Confronted Modernity Harriet Pass Freidenreich Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	131
Part III Contemporary Life
7 Women and American Judaism Pamela S. Nadell Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	153
8 Women’s Transformations of Contemporary Jewish Life Sylvia Barack Fishman Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	182
Part IV Literature
9 Women in Jewish American Literature Sara R. Horowitz Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	197
10 Text, Nation, and Gender in Israeli Women’s Fiction Nehama Aschkenasy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	221
Epilogue: Women and Judaism: From Invisibility to Integration Frederick E. Greenspahn Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	245
Contributors Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	255
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	259

Language: English
Publisher: New York University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;

eBook

Published: November 1, 2009
ISBN: 9780814733110