RECENT TITLES OF INTEREST:
Life on the Fringes: A Feminist Journey Towards Traditional Rabbinic Ordination by Haviva Ner-David (JFL Media, January 2000). In this new book, Haviva Ner-David traces her personal journey towards reconciling her feminism and her passion for Orthodox observance. Included are chapters on halakha, tahara and tum’ah, and mikva, among others
Rereading the Rabbis: A Woman’s Voice by Judith Hauptman (Westview Press, January 1999). A scholar of Talmud, Judith Hauptman demonstrates through the study of selected Talmudic texts, the role of the rabbis in elevating women’s status in society.
TITLES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:
Guardian of Eden: In Search of the Jewish Woman and Letters to a Jewish Feminist by Yisroel Miller (Feldheim Publishers, 1998). Describes the role of Orthodox women in contemporary Jewish society. Written with humor and compassion, it covers women’s role in the synagogue and the search for spiritual fulfillment.
Distant Sisters: The Women I Left Behind by Yehudit Rotem (Jewish Publication Society, March 1997). After her divorce, Rotem took her six daughters and left the haredi (ultra-orthodox) community in which she had lived for most of her life. This book offers an inside look at the perspectives of haredi women.
Five Books of Miriam: A Woman’s Commentary on the Torah by Ellen Frankel (Grosset-Putnam, 1996). Each section of the Five Books of Miriam begins with a summary of the weekly Torah reading and then offers responses from the perspectives of biblical and talmudic era women. During the course of the book, the reader hears the observations of figures such as Lilith, Rachel, Esther and Beruriah, each in her own distinctive voice.