Pious and Rebellious: Jewish Women in Medieval Europe

In this book, Abraham Grossman, professor of Jewish History at the Hebrew University, presents a clear and penetrating analysis of the status and role of Jewish women in Europe between 1000 and 1300. He lays out ten ways in which the status of women improved markedly in Germany and France in this period, particularly when compared to that reflected in the Babylonian Talmud, and also as compared to the situation of Jewish women in Moslem countries. He includes the increased role played by Jewish women in economic activity, the determination that women had the right to say berakhot connected with time-linked commandments, and the bans of Rabbeinu Gershom against polygamy and against divorcing a woman against her will. He also considers spheres in which the position of women deteriorated – such as the greater strictures on menstrual purity and the ways in which secular and religious authorities tried to curtail the expansion of women’s roles. The details which he gives about matters as varied as violence against women, girls’ education, medieval wedding ceremonies and women’s role in Jewish martyrdom are truly fascinating. This erudite and masterful book, published originally in 2001 in Hebrew, has already had a profound impact on the way historians view medieval Jewish history. It is only unfortunate that this book is an abridged translation; readers of Hebrew are advised to refer to the Hebrew edition as well for much added richness of material.