Jewish Women Collection (4 vols.)
Overview
Have you ever wondered about the untold stories of the biblical matriarchs? Are you curious to know the relevance these women and Judaism have in the contemporary world?
The Jewish Women Collection presents four volumes on the biblical matriarchs. Two volumes bring new life to the matriarchs with creative interpretations on what their lives, thoughts, and responses might have been in their specific circumstances—whether it be Sarah’s reaction to Abraham almost sacrificing Isaac, or Job’s wife’s righteous anger. The other two volumes focus on the role of Jewish women from post-biblical times to the present. They examine the changes that have occurred in Jewish tradition throughout the centuries and provide insights on how women can continue to learn from the biblical matriarchs and apply their principles to daily godly living.
The Jewish Women Collection (4 vols.) brings women—Jewish or Christian—a deeper understanding of the matriarchs and illustrates the practical insights they can gain from these women in their present lives as friends, mothers, and spouses.
With Logos Bible Software, the Jewish Women Collection (4 vols.) is easily searchable. Scripture passages appear on mouse-over, and all cross-references are linked to the other resources in your digital library, making this collection more powerful and easier to access than ever before for matriarchal study. With the advanced search features of Logos Bible Software, you can perform powerful searches by topic or Scripture reference, for example, finding every mention of “Eve” or “Genesis 18.”
Key Features
- Breathes life into the legends of the biblical matriarchs
- Examines the changes made in Jewish tradition from post-biblical times to the present
- Provides contemporary principles for godly living
Product Details
- Title: Jewish Women Collection
- Publisher: Jewish Publication Society
- Volumes: 4
- Pages: 1,190
Individual Titles
Rosen gives a new voice to more than a dozen women of the Bible. She imagines and writes the missing chapters of these women's lives in a witty and engaging collection of stories. In addition, she introduces the book with a lively essay about classical Midrash, its relationship to fiction and the imagination, and the possibilities for new midrashim written for and about women.
In a series of lively midrashic readings of selected biblical texts, novelist Rosen captures the voices of a number of biblical women who are often silenced in the traditional biblical tales in which they appear. For example, in the Genesis tale of Sarah, Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22), Sarah knows nothing of Abraham's intention to sacrifice Isaac in an act of obedience to God, and she is consigned to a role of silence in the story. However, in Rosen's retelling, Sarah witnesses Abraham's near-sacrifice of her son Isaac, returns home to die, never to see Isaac again and questions God's purpose in so testing her faith that God requires the sacrifice of her firstborn son. . . . Other women who gain new voices in this collection include Pharaoh's daughter, Miriam, Hagar, and Ruth. . . . In prose that is moving and eloquent, Rosen . . . offers compelling portraits of biblical women in these 'counter-tales.'
—Publishers Weekly
. . . great wit; humor; deep textual knowledge; . . . novelistic delights and insights; learning; paradigm and paradox; drama and suspense; . . . and always, always the happy shock of originality—these are the generous qualities of mind and language Rosen sets before us. . . .
—Cynthia Ozick, American-Jewish novelist and essayist
Norma Rosen is the author of several titles on Judaism and women's studies, including Accidents of Influence, Touching Evil, John and Anzia, and At the Center.
This is an indispensable resource about the role of Jewish women from post-biblical times to the twentieth century. Unique in its approach, it is structured so that each chapter, which is divided into three parts, covers a specific period and geographical area.
The first section of the book contains an overview, explaining how historical events affected Jews in general and Jewish women in particular. This is followed by a section of biographical entries of women of the period whose lives are set in their economic, familial, and cultural backgrounds. The third and last part of each chapter, "The World of Jewish Women," is organized by topic and covers women's activities and interests and how Jewish laws concerning women developed and changed.
This comprehensive work is an easy-to-use sourcebook, synopsizing rich and diverse resources. By examining history and analyzing the dynamics of Jewish law and custom, it illuminates the circumstances of Jewish women's lives and traces the changes that have occurred throughout the centuries. It casts a new and clear light on Jewish women as individuals and sets women firmly within the context of their own cultural and historical periods.
The book contains illustrations, extensive endnotes, and indexes that list each woman by name. It is ideal for women's groups and study groups as well as students and scholars.
A jewel.
—Publishers Weekly
[A] wonderful, unique contribution to the study of Jewish women.
—Canadian Jewish News
An impressive chronological and geographical sourcebook . . . Recommended.
—Choice
This is a good reference book for almost any library with a Judaica collection. It would also be a fine Bat Mitzvah gift.
—Association of Jewish Libraries Newsletter
. . . an excellent tool for exploring a rich sampling of individual Jewish women from ancient times to the beginning of the twentieth century and learning what historians have unearthed about them.
—Feminist Collections
Cheryl Tallan received an MA in interdisciplinary studies from York University, Toronto, with a specialty in medieval Jewish widows. In addition to numerous articles, Tallan is the author of Medieval Jewish Women in History, Literature, Law and Art: A Bibliography.
Sondra Henry is a historian, lawyer, and coauthor with Emily Taitz of six books for young adults. She writes for the literary magazine of Temple Israel in Great Neck, New York.
Emily Taitz, PhD taught Women’s Studies and general history courses for ten years at Adelphi University. She has published numerous articles and books on Jewish women.
Sarah Laughed breathes life into the legends of the biblical matriarchs, filling the gaps in their stories, and making their trials and triumphs relevant for women today. Intimate, familiar, and wise, the heroines you'll find here are uplifting role models, from Eve's rebellious taste of wisdom to the righteous anger of Job's wife. In this vivid volume, you'll discover fresh insight into:
- Finding your inner wisdom
- Speaking your true self
- Being a good friend
- Maintaining romantic partnerships
- Raising a family
- Letting go of children
- Feeling blessed with a life well lived
- Creating your own celebration rituals
With warmth, erudition, and a very contemporary sensibility, Ochs offers reflections on the lives of Old Testament matriarchs that should appeal to women across religious lines.
—Publishers Weekly
Ardently and unstoppably upbeat.
—Library Journal
. . . each story becomes a wellspring of insights that can empower us to think and act differently in our own lives.
—Jewish Woman
Ochs offers readers a rare treat—fine scholarship combined with inspirational connections to life in the modern world.
—Jewish Book World
Vanessa L. Ochs is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia. The recipient of a writing fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, her books include Words on Fire, Safe and Sound, and Inventing Jewish Ritual.
This is an exceptional anthology of twenty-four stories about the women in the Bible. Drawing from the ancient tradition of midrash, the author brings to life the inner world and the experiences of these women, weaving rabbinic legends and her own imagination into the biblical texts.
Readers will discover Lilith—not as the night demon alluded to in Isaiah, but as another aspect of Eve herself. Sarah is a moon priestess and as great a prophet as Abraham. Miriam is not merely a figure of song and dance, but also one of revelation, a source of Torah.
These stories were written to give biblical women the honor they deserve—due to them as prophets, rulers, and teachers. The Introduction to Sisters at Sinai offers the rationale and the need for midrash—the writing in the margins—expressing how it can be liberating as well as deeply comforting. Perfect for women's studies courses, adult study groups, confirmation classes, and book groups.
Hammer breathes a woman's breath into ancient narratives . . . her collection of new midrashim draws on her knowledge of the Bible, the rich tradition of classical midrash, and on her own imagination.
—Lilith
[Sisters at Sinai] offers creative interpretations of the women of the Bible, infusing the stories with fresh insights and perspectives.
—Jewish News of Greater Phoenix
. . . these diverse tales draw upon Judaic traditions and understandings regarding the human condition as surely as the Scriptures that inspired them. Highly recommended reading.
—Bookwatch
Rabbi Jill Hammer is also the author of The Jewish Book of Days (a 2006 National Jewish Book Award Finalist). A popular teacher, her speech topics include “Jewish Cycles of Time” and “Contemporary Midrash.”
Partially includedReviews
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Elizabeth Parker
8/28/2014
Larry Proffitt
11/13/2013
