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Reinstating the Divine Woman in Judaism

Author: Jenny Kien

Publisher: Universal-Publishers

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 9781581127638

A GODDESS FOR WOMEN'S PRAYERS Goddesses in ancient religions were particularly significant for women's physical, social and spiritual well-being. Yet, the Divine Woman was discarded by the monotheistic religions. Arguing her importance for women, the author proposes returning the Divine Woman to Judaism. Textual, archeological and historical analysis reveal how the Canaanite Great Goddess Asherah played a major role as Jahweh's consort in the religion of biblical Judah and Israel. The author shows how this goddess has not entirely disappeared from modern Judaism - her analysis of the expulsion from the Garden of Eden and the story of Tamar and Judah reveals many traces of Asherah's worship and myths still in the Bible. The development of the menorah and the kabbalistic Tree of Life from Asherah's religious symbolism further illustrate the goddess' profound effect on Judaism. These findings are of great relevance for present-day feminist Judaism. Reintroducing the Divine Woman to Judaism may stimulate new ways of approaching biblical texts, religious practice and yearly festivals - ways that preserve their connection with Jewish tradition but also empower women.

On the Wings of Shekhinah

Author: Rabbi Leah Novick

Publisher: Quest Books

Published: 2014-07-07

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 0835631168

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One effect of rising interest in the Kabbalah is a renewed focus on the Shekhinah, Judaism's divine feminine principle. Written with warmth and clarity, On the Wings of Shekhinah interweaves historical views of this concept with thoughtful quotes and guided meditations. Rabbi Leah Novick offers healing strategies for both Jews and non-Jews disaffected by rigid gender roles. Awareness of the Shekhinah’s energy within and around us helps bring hope to a planet afflicted by war, violence, and environmental abuse — this book shows how to find and use that energy.

Expanding the Palace of Torah

Author: Tamar Ross

Publisher: UPNE

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 9781584653905

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Expanding the Palace of Torah offers a broad philosophical overview of the challenges the women's revolution poses to Orthodox Judaism, and Orthodox Judaism's response to those challenges. Writing as an insider (herself an Orthodox Jew), Ross seeks to develop a theological response that fully acknowledges the male bias of Judaism's sanctified texts, yet nevertheless provides a rationale for transforming that bias in today's world without undermining their authority. She proposes an approach to divine revelation -- the theological heart of traditional Judaism -- which she calls "cumulativism." This approach is based on a conflating of strict boundaries between text and its interpretation, or divine intent and the evolution of human understanding. Book jacket.

Encyclopedia of Women in World Religions [2 volumes]

Author: Susan de-Gaia

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2018-11-16

Total Pages: 993

ISBN-13: 1440848505

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This reference offers reliable knowledge about women's diverse faith practices throughout history and prehistory, and across cultures. Across the span of human history, women have participated in world-building and life-sustaining cultural creativity, making enormous contributions to religion and spirituality. In the contemporary period, women have achieved greater equality, with more educational opportunities, female role models in public life, and opportunities for religious expression than ever before. Contemporaneously with this increased visibility, women are actively and energetically engaging with religion for themselves and for their communities. Drawing on the expertise of a range of scholars, this reference chronicles the religious experiences of women across time and cultures. The book includes sections on major religions as well as on spirituality, African religions, prehistoric religions, and other broad topics. Each section begins with an introduction, followed by reference entries on specialized subjects along with excerpts from primary source documents. The entries provide numerous suggestions for further reading, and the book closes with a detailed bibliography.

Christian Goddess Spirituality

Author: Mary Ann Beavis

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-10-08

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 1317385551

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This monograph focuses on "Christian Goddess Spirituality" (CGS), the phenomenon of (mostly) women who combine Christianity and Goddess Spirituality, including Wicca/Witchcraft. Mary Ann Beavis’s study provides ethnographic data and analysis on the lived religious experience of CGS practitioners, drawing on interviews of over 100 women who self-identify as combining Christianity and Goddess spirituality. Although CGS also has implications for Goddess Spirituality and related traditions (e.g., Neopaganism, Wicca), here, CGS is considered primarily as a phenomenon within Christianity. However, the study also shows that the fusion of Christian and Goddess spiritualties has had an impact on non-Christian feminist spirituality, since Goddess-worshippers have often constructed Christianity as the diametrical opposite and enemy of the Goddess, to the point that some refuse to admit the possibility that CGS is a valid spiritual path, or that it is even possible. In addition, biblical, Jewish and Christian images of the divine such as Sophia, Shekhinah, the Virgin Mary, and even Mary Magdalene, have found their way into the "Pagan" Goddess pantheon. The main themes of the study include: overlaps and differences between Christian feminist theology and CGS; the routes to CGS for individual practitioners, and their beliefs, practices and experiences; proto-denominational classifications ("spiritual paths") within CGS; CGS thealogy (Christian discourse about the female divine); and the future of CGS in social scientific and ecclesiological context. Christian Goddess Spirituality will be of interest to scholars of religion, especially those with interests in women and religion, feminist spiritualities, feminist theology/thealogy, alternative spiritualities, New Religious Movements, and emergent Christianities.

New Jewish Feminism

Author: Rabbi Elyse Goldstein

Publisher: Turner Publishing Company

Published: 2012-06-28

Total Pages: 514

ISBN-13: 1580236502

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Jewish Feminism: What Have We Accomplished? What Is Still to Be Done? “When you are in the middle of the revolution you can’t really plan the next steps ahead. But now we can. The book is intended to open up a dialogue between the early Jewish feminist pioneers and the young women shaping Judaism today.... Read it, use it, debate it, ponder it.” —from the Introduction This empowering anthology looks at the growth and accomplishments of Jewish feminism and what that means for Jewish women today and tomorrow. It features the voices of women from every area of Jewish life—the Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative, Orthodox and Jewish Renewal movements; rabbis, congregational leaders, artists, writers, community service professionals, academics, and chaplains, from the United States, Canada, and Israel—addressing the important issues that concern Jewish women: Women and Theology Women, Ritual and Torah Women and the Synagogue Women in Israel Gender, Sexuality and Age Women and the Denominations Leadership and Social Justice

The Battle Between the Moon and Sun

Author: Jenny Kien

Publisher: Universal-Publishers

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13: 9781581125986

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Woman's mysterious bleedings in time with moon cycles were first seen as the human embodiment of the cosmic mysteries of birth, death and rebirth and served as the basis for time-keeping. With the rise of absolute kingships in the Ancient Near East, authority shifted from women and goddesses to men and gods. The male sun displaced the cycling moon as dominant deity. This conflict between the moon and sun estranged women from the cosmic dance and led to their social marginalization. Spiritual imagery became solar, an exclusive and masculine imagery recognizing only one truth and demonizing all else. Incorporated into Judaism and Christianity, this imagery became an integral part of Western culture. The history of the Jewish and Christian calendars show how women were excluded from time-keeping, further marginalizing them. This eliminated the natural world from time-keeping, adding to our alienation from nature. To end the Battle between the Moon and Sun a new spiritual imagery must replace the current solar form. The history of the Battle shows that redeveloping the old female lunar imagery could help restore social inclusiveness and a reverence for life.

The Receiving

Author: Tirzah Firestone

Publisher: Zondervan

Published: 2009-10-13

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 0061832979

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A highly respected rabbi, therapist, and teacher restores women's spiritual lineage to Judaism and empowers women to reclaim their rightful connection to Jewish teachings, Kabbalah, and to their own spiritual wisdom.

The Sacred Calling

Author: Rebecca Einstein Schorr

Publisher: CCAR Press

Published: 2016-05-17

Total Pages: 776

ISBN-13: 0881232807

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Women have been rabbis for over forty years. No longer are women rabbis a unique phenomenon, rather they are part of the fabric of Jewish life. In this anthology, rabbis and scholars from across the Jewish world reflect back on the historic significance of women in the rabbinate and explore issues related to both the professional and personal lives of women rabbis. This collection examines the ways in which the reality of women in the rabbinate has impacted on all aspects of Jewish life, including congregational culture, liturgical development, life cycle ritual, the Jewish healing movement, spirituality, theology, and more.

The Routledge Handbook of Postsecularity

Author: Justin Beaumont

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-10-26

Total Pages: 448

ISBN-13: 1315307812

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The Routledge Handbook of Postsecularity offers an internationally significant and comprehensive interdisciplinary collection which provides a series of critical reviews of the current state of the art and future trends in philosophical, theoretical, and conceptual terms. The volume likewise presents a range of empirical knowledges and engagements with postsecularity. A critical yet sympathetic dialogue across disciplinary divides in an international context ensures that the volume covers a wide and interrelated intellectual and geographical scope. The editor’s introduction with Klaus Eder offers a robust foundation for the volume, setting out the central aims and objectives, the rationale for the contributions, and an outline of the structure. Thorny issues of normativity and empirical challenges are highlighted for the reader. The handbook comprises four interrelated sections. Part I: Philosophical meditations discusses postsecularity from philosophical standpoints, and Part II: Theological perspectives presents contributions from a variety of theological viewpoints. Part III: Theory, space, social relations contains pieces from geography, planning, sociology, and religious studies that delve into theoretically informed empirical implications of postsecularity. Part IV: Political and social engagement offers chapters that emphasize the political and social implications of the debate. In the Afterword, Eduardo Mendieta joins the editor to reflect on the notion of reflexive secularization across the volume as a whole, alluding to new lines of inquiry. The handbook is an invaluable guide for graduate and advanced undergraduate teaching, and a key reference for students and scholars of human geography, sociology, political science, applied philosophy, urban and public theology, planning, and urban studies.