The Jewish Family: Metaphor and Memory [Hardcover]

David Kraemer (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195054679 | ISBN-13: 978-0195054675 | Publication Date: February 9, 1989

Carefully arguing that many common assumptions about the traditional Jewish family are mistaken, this outstanding collection of essays--many previously unpublished--by thirteen leading scholars, explores the subject both in its historical reality and as it has been perceived and imagined by Jews over the centuries. Writing for a conference held at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America the contributors, including Robert Alter, Mordecai Friedman, Paula Hyman, and Moshe Idel, reveal the Jewish family to be a variegated, rich, and complicated institution that has adapted and responded to the many different cultures in which Jews have made their homes. Individual essays examine Jewish marriage in rabbinic, medieval, and modern times; marriage as a literary and artistic metaphor; childhood and adolescence in Judaism and the role of the mother as ethical instructor; and the Jewish family in the community, where different Jewish cultures have preserved central elements of the tradition while developing unique expressions of family life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A valuable contribution toward piecing together a coherent picture of what the family has meant in Jewish life and in the Jewish imagination."--Journal of Religion

"[This is] a collection of essays by 13 scholars considering the norms of the Jewish family at particular times and places, finding it more complex and adaptable than much nostalgic or scornful literature would indicate."--The Jewish Journal

"A rich compendium on a wide variety of topics, including a section on the little studied subject of childhood and adolescence."--Jewish Spectator

"A useful introduction to the subject. No academic library should be without it."--Religious Studies Review

"This is a scholarly collection of papers which provides new insights and which should stimulate further research on the many aspects of the history and of the structure of the Jewish family."--Jewish Journal of Sociology

About the Author

David Kraemer is at Jewish Theological Seminary.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (February 9, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195054679
• ISBN-13: 978-0195054675
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,195,030 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)