Jewish Women's History from Antiquity to the Present

Jewish Women's History from Antiquity to the Present
Author: Rebecca Lynn Winer
Publisher: Wayne State University Press
Total Pages: 687
Release: 2021-11-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 0814346324

This publication is significant within the field of Jewish studies and beyond; the essays include comparative material and have the potential to reach scholarly audiences in many related fields but are written to be accessible to all, with the introductions in every chapter aimed at orienting the enthusiast from outside academia to each time and place.

Some Jewish Women in Antiquity

Some Jewish Women in Antiquity
Author: Meir Bar-Ilan
Publisher: Neusner Titles in Brown Judaic
Total Pages: 200
Release: 1998
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

Sets out to characterize different types of Jewish women in Eretz- Israel over a period of more than a thousand years, from the biblical period to the time of the Mishna and Talmud, drawing on various biblical and talmudic texts. Contains chapters on heroines, women's literacy, keening women, prayers said by women, sorceresses, and prostitutes. Each chapter presents literary sources in chronological order, followed by discussion of social aspects of historical facts. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Jewish Women in Historical Perspective

Jewish Women in Historical Perspective
Author: Judith Reesa Baskin
Publisher: Wayne State University Press
Total Pages: 388
Release: 1998
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780814327135

This collection of revised and new essays explores Jewish women's history. Topics include portrayals of women in the Hebrew Bible, the image and status of women in the diaspora world of late antiquity, and Jewish women in the Middle Ages.

Rebecca Gratz

Rebecca Gratz
Author: Dianne Ashton
Publisher: Wayne State University Press
Total Pages: 350
Release: 1997
Genre: Jewish religious education of children
ISBN: 9780814326664

This is the first in-depth biography of Rebecca Gratz (1781-1869), the foremost American Jewish woman of the nineteenth century. Perhaps the best-known member of the prominent Gratz family of Philadelphia, she was a fervent patriot, a profoundly religious woman, and a widely known activist for poor women. She devoted her life to confronting and resolving the personal challenges she faced as a Jew and as a female member of a prosperous family. In using hundreds of Gratz's own letters in her research, Dianne Ashton reveals Gratz's own blend of Jewish and American values and explores the significance of her work. Informed by her American and Jewish ideas, values, and attitudes, Gratz created and managed a variety of municipal and Jewish institutions for charity and education, including America's first independent Jewish women's charitable society, the first Jewish Sunday school, and the first American Jewish foster home. Through her commitment to establishing charitable resources for women, promoting Judaism in a Christian society, and advancing women's roles in Jewish life, Gratz shaped a Jewish arm of what has been called America's largely Protestant "benevolent empire." Influenced by the religious and political transformations taking place nationally and locally, Gratz matured into a social visionary whose dreams for American Jewish life far surpassed the realities she saw around her. She believed that Judaism was advanced by the founding of the Female Hebrew Benevolent Society and the Hebrew Sunday School because they offered religious education to thousands of children and leadership opportunities to Jewish women. Gratz's organizations worked with an inclusive definition of Jewishness that encompassed all Philadelphia Jews at a time when differences in national origin, worship style, and religious philosophy divided them. Legend has it that Gratz was the prototype for the heroine Rebecca of York in Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe, the Jewish woman who refused to wed the Christian hero of the tale out of loyalty to her faith and father. That legend has draped Gratz's life in sentimentality and has blurred our vision of her. Rebecca Gratz is the first book to examine Gratz's life, her legend, and our memory.

Jewish Marriage in Antiquity

Jewish Marriage in Antiquity
Author: Michael L. Satlow
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 457
Release: 2001-04-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 069100255X

Marriage today might be a highly contested topic, but certainly no more than it was in antiquity. Ancient Jews, like their non-Jewish neighbors, grappled with what have become perennial issues of marriage, from its idealistic definitions to its many practical forms to questions of who should or should not wed. In this book, Michael Satlow offers the first in-depth synthetic study of Jewish marriage in antiquity, from ca. 500 B.C.E. to 614 C.E. Placing Jewish marriage in its cultural milieu, Satlow investigates whether there was anything essentially "Jewish" about the institution as it was discussed and practiced. Moreover, he considers the social and economic aspects of marriage as both a personal relationship and a religious bond, and explores how the Jews of antiquity negotiated the gap between marital realities and their ideals. Focusing on the various experiences of Jews throughout the Mediterranean basin and in Babylonia, Satlow argues that different communities, even rabbinic ones, constructed their own "Jewish" marriage: they read their received traditions and rituals through the lens of a basic understanding of marriage that they shared with their non-Jewish neighbors. He also maintains that Jews idealized marriage in a way that responded to the ideals of their respective societies, mediating between such values as honor and the far messier realities of marital life. Employing Jewish and non-Jewish literary texts, papyri, inscriptions, and material artifacts, Satlow paints a vibrant portrait of ancient Judaism while sharpening and clarifying present discussions on modern marriage for Jews and non-Jews alike.

Remarkable Jewish Women

Remarkable Jewish Women
Author: Emily Taitz
Publisher: Jewish Publication Society of America
Total Pages: 252
Release: 1996
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN:

Presents brief portraits of more than eighty Jewish women and introduces the historical, social, and cultural backgrounds of the periods during which they lived.

A History of Jewish-Muslim Relations

A History of Jewish-Muslim Relations
Author: Abdelwahab Meddeb
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 1153
Release: 2013-11-27
Genre: History
ISBN: 1400849136

The first encylopedic guide to the history of relations between Jews and Muslims around the world This is the first encyclopedic guide to the history of relations between Jews and Muslims around the world from the birth of Islam to today. Richly illustrated and beautifully produced, the book features more than 150 authoritative and accessible articles by an international team of leading experts in history, politics, literature, anthropology, and philosophy. Organized thematically and chronologically, this indispensable reference provides critical facts and balanced context for greater historical understanding and a more informed dialogue between Jews and Muslims. Part I covers the medieval period; Part II, the early modern period through the nineteenth century, in the Ottoman Empire, Africa, Asia, and Europe; Part III, the twentieth century, including the exile of Jews from the Muslim world, Jews and Muslims in Israel, and Jewish-Muslim politics; and Part IV, intersections between Jewish and Muslim origins, philosophy, scholarship, art, ritual, and beliefs. The main articles address major topics such as the Jews of Arabia at the origin of Islam; special profiles cover important individuals and places; and excerpts from primary sources provide contemporary views on historical events. Contributors include Mark R. Cohen, Alain Dieckhoff, Michael Laskier, Vera Moreen, Gordon D. Newby, Marina Rustow, Daniel Schroeter, Kirsten Schulze, Mark Tessler, John Tolan, Gilles Veinstein, and many more. Covers the history of relations between Jews and Muslims around the world from the birth of Islam to today Written by an international team of leading scholars Features in-depth articles on social, political, and cultural history Includes profiles of important people (Eliyahu Capsali, Joseph Nasi, Mohammed V, Martin Buber, Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin, Edward Said, Messali Hadj, Mahmoud Darwish) and places (Jerusalem, Alexandria, Baghdad) Presents passages from essential documents of each historical period, such as the Cairo Geniza, Al-Sira, and Judeo-Persian illuminated manuscripts Richly illustrated with more than 250 images, including maps and color photographs Includes extensive cross-references, bibliographies, and an index

Women of Valor

Women of Valor
Author: Sheila F. Segal
Publisher: Behrman House, Inc
Total Pages: 148
Release: 1996
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780874416121

Biographies of eight women who made unique contributions to Jewish life, including union organizer Rose Schneiderman, founder of Hadassah Henrietta Szold, and Israel's first Olympic medalist Yael Arad.

Defining Jewish Difference

Defining Jewish Difference
Author: Beth A. Berkowitz
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2012-03-19
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1107013712

Berkowitz shows that interpretation of Leviticus 18:3 provides an essential backdrop for today's conversations about Jewish assimilation and minority identity.