 |
GetTextbooks.co.uk
Compare Prices & Save up to 90% |
|
|
|
| Login | Sign up | Settings | My Wish List |
 | | The Women's Torah Commentary: New Insights from Women Rabbis on the 54 Weekly Torah Portions by Elyse Goldstein (Editor) ISBN-10: 9781580230766 ISBN-10: 1-58023-076-8 ISBN-13: 9781580230766 ISBN-13: 978-1-58023-076-6 Hardcover 2000-08 Jewish Lights Publishing Find Lowest Price |
Editorials | ||
Product Description Less than 30 years ago it was unheard of for a woman to be a rabbi. Now, not only are women being ordained as rabbis; they are changing the way all people—not just women, not just Jews—think and feel about Judaism. In this ground-breaking book, more than 50 women rabbis come together to offer their own inspiring commentaries on the Torah, following the traditional weekly reading. For the first time, women’s unique experiences and perspectives are applied to the entire Five Books of Moses, offering us the first comprehensive commentary by women. Included are commentaries by the first women ever ordained in the Reform, Reconstructionist and Conservative movements; women from across these denominations who are congregational leaders, Hillel college campus rabbis, community service professionals, academics and chaplains; women from the United States, Canada, Israel and South America. This book offers a women’s perspective and a feminist perspective, to inspire all of us in gaining deeper meaning from the Torah. | ||
Reviews | ||
Women's Voices Goldstein, Rabbi Elyse, editor. "The Women's Torah Commentary: New Insights from Women Rabbis on the 54 Weekly Torah Portions", Jewish Lights, 2000. Women's Voices Amos Lassen We see more and more women rabbis all the time and they have valuable voices to lend to the study of Holy Scripture. Rabbi Elyse Goldstein gives us thoughts on the Torah arranged by weekly portions making it an excellent reference book. Before I go to services on Saturday morning, after I consult several commentaries and try to come up with my own, I have a look at her book which I save as a sort of dessert. I always manage to find something new. Each portion is written by a different ordained female rabbi and each provides a feminist analysis written in the voice of a woman. The discussions are varied. Some deal with female characters in the Torah which are not really covered in the original Torah. Some readings have no women at all but these women will find some way to inject a feminist thesis into what is written and usually do so very successfully. I would mislead you if I said every commentary is wonderful--some just do not make it but they all provide ideas and new interpretations. The book is obviously an undertaking of love and I think what makes this book so special is that until three decades ago, the idea of women rabbis seemed heretical. Today we have women writing commentary on the book that is the cornerstone of our way of life. And they do not just write and comment--they think and give us a new way for looking at subjects that have been discussed for centuries. I personally disagree with the critics who pooh-pooh the project. The beauty of the Torah is that every reading brings something new. Here the women provide the commentary. Agree with it or not makes no never mind. To me it is not only a worthwhile enterprise but an addition to our scholarship. Y'Hee HaNashim. | ||
Good Points of View Good points of view, but not all-encompassing analysis. Not militantly feminist, but focuses on a woman's perspective. A nice companion to the commentary one normally finds. | ||
Feminist analysis in dazzling variety Is part of your Sabbath preparation or observance picking up a book and reading a short (5-10 minute) essay about the parasha of the week --- or would you like it to be? If so The Women's Torah Commentary (Rabbi Elyse Goldstein, ed., Jewish Lights, 2000) may be just what you could use. The book has 54 essays --- one for each Torah portion. Each essay in this anthology is written by a different ordained woman Rabbi, or one who is soon to be ordained. The book provides a distinctly feminist analysis. The editor wanted writers who "would sing the song of women - to speak in a woman's voice." And from what I've seen, there seems relatively little of the male-bashing that sometime mars feminist analysis, especially of the Humash. Many essays deal with women characters, but since we are often told very little about them, the writers often reach into midrash to flesh these characters out, and then add some imaginings of their own to the mix to draw their lessons. This is seen for example in the discussion of the unnamed wife of Noah, and in the treatment of Asenath, the wife of Joseph. Of course, many readings have no women present, but that does not stymie a feminist analysis. One imaginative treatment is of parasha Pekudei, where the author draws a parallel between the construction of the mishkan (desert Tabernacle), and the human birthing process. Not every essay is a gem. The one on Tzav stuck me as uninspired, with the reference to women little more than pasted in. Still, there is a ringing affirmation of Eve's conduct, an intriguing connection drawn between kashrut and eating disorders, a fine comparison on the Rachel/Leah and Jacob/Esau struggles, and an inspiring piece on "Community as a Sacred Space" to name just a few of the winners. You might think that a book of commentary with the same overall analytical approach (feminist) in most essays would start to sound the same after a while, but the approaches, themes, and writing styles provide a great deal of variety. There is a significant emphasis on transformation and growth, which is not surprising since women who choose to become rabbis are often people seeking to make a significant change themselves. The book ends with 35 pages of biographical notes, in which each contributor provides a quote on how or why she came to be a Rabbi. | ||
a pitiful enterprise My review will be short and to the point. If these radical feminist women "rabbis" are so pretentious and arrogant as to claim that the Holy Torah was the work of some male chauvinist pigs - God forbid - then, I must ask, why bother re-writing it and re-interpreting it at all? Just call it what it is, and let it go! What a pitiful waste of time it was to spend all that time explaining a text that was written by some lowlife male Rabbis who obviously hated women with a passion! The truth is, of course, that those Rabbis were smartly spending all their time explaining a truly Divine document - and all those fanciful "interpretations" penned by the 50 or so women "rabbis" were indeed a truly pitiful enterprise and a waste of time and ink. H.K. | ||
Thoughtful, complex, scholarly, fascinating analysis. The Women's Torah Commentary: New Insights From Women Rabbis On The 54 Weekly Torah Portions is a massive compendium of interpretations by more than fifty female rabbis that substantially broadens the scope of a true understanding of the sacred text of the Torah. Scarcely a generation (30 years) ago it was unheard of for women to be ordained as rabbis; now a comprehensive, extensive, and exhaustive commentary contains their point of view to inspire all faithful believers. A complex, thought provoking, scholarly, and fascinating analysis The Women's Torah Commentary is a superbly presented and very highly recommended addition to Judaic Studies reading lists and reference collections. | ||