About the Book
A history and celebration of Jewish women through the centuries.
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, boxed text, extensive endnotes, and indices that list each woman by name. It is ideal for women’s groups and study groups as well as students and scholars.
Awards
National Jewish Book Award Winner
Praise
An impressive chronological and geographical sourcebook . . . Recommended. General readers through faculty.
—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
[A] wonderful, unique contribution to the study of Jewish women.
—Canadian Jewish News
