Women and Mitzvot

Women and Mitzvot PDF

Author: G. Ellinson

Publisher: Feldheim Publishers

Published: 1992-09

Total Pages: 406

ISBN-13: 9781583301487

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

A study of Rabbinic and midrashic sources.

My Dear Daughter

My Dear Daughter PDF

Author: Edward Fram

Publisher: Hebrew Union College Press

Published: 2007-12-31

Total Pages: 358

ISBN-13: 0878200983

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

How did Jewish women in sixteenth-century Poland learn all the rules, rituals, and customs pertaining to the sexual life of couples within the context of marriage? As in other areas of ritual life that concerned the household, it would seem that the primary source for the education of Jewish women was other women. But rabbinic law dictates that Jewish women who experience uterine bleeding are prohibited from having physical contact of any kind with their husbands, and the intricate laws of niddah (enforced separation) spell out exactly when and under what circumstances physical marital relations, even simple touching, can be resumed. Particularly difficult issues could be addressed only by rabbis or other learned men, since women rarely, if ever, attained the level of rabbinic scholarship necessary to pare the details of these complicated laws. To educate both men and women, but particularly women, in a more systematic and impersonal manner, the young rabbi Benjamin Slonik (ca. 1550-after 1620), who later became one of the leading rabbinic authorities in eastern Europe, harnessed the relatively new technology of printing and published a how-to book for women in the Yiddish vernacular. Seder mitzvot hanashim (The Order of Women's Commandments) illuminates the history of Yiddish printing and public education. But it is also a rare remnant of a direct interface between a member of the rabbinic elite and the laity, especially women. Slonik's text also sheds light on the history of Jewish law, particularly the reception of the Shulhan Arukh, an important legal code that had just been published. This volume makes available the 1585 edition of the Seder mitzvot hanashim in Yiddish and English. Fram sets Slonik's work in its bibliographical and historical contexts, demonstrating its relationship with the Shulhan Arukh, exploring how rabbis opposed formal education for women, considering how upheavals accompanying geographic shifts in the Ashkenazic community help explain how the women's commandments texts came to be used in Poland, and offering a treasure trove of information on the place and roles of women in Polish-Jewish society. Fram thus creates a composite picture of how Slonik, along with other men of his time, perceived the main audience for his work and sought to connect it to contemporary texts.

Women and Mitzvot

Women and Mitzvot PDF

Author: G. Ellinson

Publisher: Feldheim Publishers

Published: 1992-09

Total Pages: 378

ISBN-13: 9781583301470

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

A study of Rabbinic and midrashic sources.

Jewish Women in Europe in the Middle Ages

Jewish Women in Europe in the Middle Ages PDF

Author: Simha Goldin

Publisher: Manchester University Press

Published: 2020-01-03

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13: 1526148277

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Goldin’s study explores the relationships between men and women within Jewish society living in Germany, northern France and England among the Christian population over a period of some 350 years. Looking at original Hebrew sources to conduct a social analysis, he takes us from the middle of the tenth century until the middle of the second half of the fourteenth century, when the Christian population had expelled the Jews from almost all of the places they were living. Particularly fascinating are the attitudes towards women, as well as their changes in social status. By examining the factors involved in these issues, including views of the leadership, economic influences, internal power politics and gender struggles, Goldin's book provides a greater understanding of the functioning of these communities. This volume will be of great interest to historians of medieval Europe, gender and religion.

Total Immersion

Total Immersion PDF

Author: Rivkah Slonim

Publisher:

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Total Immersion will at once educate those who are unfamiliar with the Mikvah ritual, inspire those who have, thus far, been hesitant to make this rite their own, and will reveal the blessing it bestows upon those who immerse themselves in its waters.

Jewish Woman in Jewish Law

Jewish Woman in Jewish Law PDF

Author: Moshe Meiselman

Publisher: KTAV Publishing House, Inc.

Published: 1978

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 9780870683299

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Rabbi Moshe Meiselman addresses the attitude of Jewish law to women and how the Jewish tradition views the contemporary challenge of feminism. He discusses in detail such current issues as creative ritual, women in a minyan, aliyot for women, talit and tefillin. The question of agunah is also given lengthy consideration. The author mixes current issues with scholarly ones and gives full treatment to other issues such as learning Torah by women, women position in court both as witnesses and as litigants, the marriage ceremony & marital life. — Amazon.com.

Women and Jewish Law

Women and Jewish Law PDF

Author: Rachel Biale

Publisher: Schocken

Published: 2011-04-20

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 0307762017

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

How has a legal tradition determined by men affected the lives of women? What are the traditional Jewish views of marriage, divorce, sexuality, contraception, abortion? Women and Jewish Law gives contemporary readers access to the central texts of the Jewish religious tradition on issues of special concern to women. Combining a historical overview with a thoughtful feminist critique, this pathbreaking study points the way for “informed change” in the status of women in Jewish life.

Pious and Rebellious

Pious and Rebellious PDF

Author: Avraham Grossman

Publisher: UPNE

Published: 2012-09-04

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 1611683947

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The first complete look at the social status and daily life of medieval Jewish women.

Rupture and Reconstruction

Rupture and Reconstruction PDF

Author: Haym Soloveitchik

Publisher: Liverpool University Press

Published: 2021-09-10

Total Pages: 158

ISBN-13: 1800858213

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The essay that forms the core of this book is an attempt to understand the developments that have occurred in Orthodox Jewry in America in the last seventy years, and to analyse their implications. The prime change is what is often described as ‘the swing to the right’, a marked increase in ritual stringency, a rupture in patterns of behaviour that has had major consequences not only for Jewish society but also for the nature of Jewish spirituality. For Haym Soloveitchik, the key feature at the root of this change is that, as a result of migration to the ‘New Worlds’ of England, the US, and Israel and acculturation to its new surroundings, American Jewry—indeed, much of the Jewish world— had to reconstruct religious practice from normative texts: observance could no longer be transmitted mimetically, on the basis of practices observed in home and street. In consequence, behaviour once governed by habit is now governed by rule. This new edition allows the author to deal with criticisms raised since the essay, long established as a classic in the field, was originally published, and enables readers to gain a fuller perspective on a topic central to today’s Jewish world and its development.

The Woman in Jewish Law and Tradition

The Woman in Jewish Law and Tradition PDF

Author: Michael Kaufman

Publisher: Jason Aronson

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 376

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Are abortion and birth control permitted in Jewish law? Does Judaism require women to marry? May women be called to the Torah? Why are women excused from certain commandments in the Torah, and are they permitted to fulfill those from which they are exempt? How does Judaism view Torah study for girls? What is the status of women in Jewish religious, civil, and criminal law? In The Woman in Jewish Law and Tradition, Michael Kaufman explores these and other issues in order to dispel the myths and misunderstandings that have distorted the popular conception of women in Judaism and been propagated for generations. "Much of the misunderstanding concerning the status of women in Judaism", says Kaufman, "is undoubtedly rooted in popular misconceptions regarding the gender spheres in Judaism". Jewish gender spheres refer to the complementary positions men and women are assigned in both the public and private areas of life. Kaufman explains that Judaism has long recognized that the two sexes are fundamentally different in many ways. "Judaism teaches that the inherent disparities between the dominant inclinations of men and women are part of the grand design of the Creator that people fulfill the task set out for them in the world. Each finds satisfaction in his or her complementary role. This contributes to the harmony of the family unit". The Torah provides a set of laws and rules governing the relationship of men and women to God and to each other for the proper functioning of the world. In addition to defining the roles of women in marriage and family life, ritual observances, prayer, Torah study, and systems of law, Kaufman provides a look at the extensive impact of women in Jewish history.From the biblical period to modern times, in the Talmud, Jewish law, thought, philosophy, literature, and social development, Jewish women have had an incalculable influence on the direction taken by the Jewish people. Michael Kaufman fills a long-felt gap by providing a clear and comprehensive guide to the gender roles in Judaism. In modern times, in a society where women are encouraged to do everything that men can do, the distinct role of the woman in Judaism is often seen as sexist and disdainful. The Woman in Jewish Law and Tradition illustrates that a woman's role in Judaism is no less important than a man's and that in fact it is Judaism's esteem and respect for the woman that helps to define her role.