A Breath of Life: Feminism in the American Jewish Community (Brandeis Series in American Jewish History, Culture and Life) [Paperback]

Sylvia Barack Fishman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 1995 | Series: Brandeis Series in American Jewish History, Culture and Life

A vigorous portrayal of the effects of a distinct form of feminism on the spiritual and secular lives of Jewish women.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this broad, balanced survey, Brandeis University researcher Fishman assesses the challenges facing Jewish women and the various ways to resolve them. Based on interviews with 120 women, scholarly works, popular literature and other sources, the book offers useful background on the development of Jewish feminism and nuanced looks at dilemmas and debates about marriage, parenthood, work and sexuality. Fishman describes the emergence and growing popularity of new rituals--female equivalents of the celebrations surrounding circumcision and the bar mitzvah. Proposing that feminism must sometimes bow to tradition, Fishman argues that Jewish religion and culture require some measure of hierarchy. Sympathetic to the movements within Judaism--Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative and Orthodox--she suggests that each branch has led the way in at least one area of feminist progress. "Feminism is bringing newly ardent Jews--women--into the fold," she concludes.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

After conducting scores of interviews and analyzing the 1990 National Jewish Population Study along with other demographic data and Jewish American literature, Fishman, a research associate at Brandeis, has created a scholarly and panoramic view of the impact of feminism on the lives of American Jewish women today. "These years have been stirring ones for traditional Jewish women and their daughters," Fishman observes, concluding that "feminism in general and Jewish feminism in particular have influenced demographic, educational, occupational, sexual, social, and religious trends... and have given women unprecedented choices and control over their own destiny." A timely and important work that will bring a shock of recognition to American Jewish women--and men--much as Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique did to America 30 years ago. Highly recommended.
- Marcia Welsh, Guilford Free Lib., Ct.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Brandeis; 1st edition (March 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874517060
• ISBN-13: 978-0874517064
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,704,054 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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