Customer Reviews

On Women and Judaism: A View from Tradition

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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I really enjoyed this book, in which Blu Greenberg discusses the ways that she reconciles feminism and traditional Judaism. Her thoughts were very influential for me, and still affect the way that I see many issues.

Unfortunately, the book is not meaty enough. She speaks in generalities rather than tackling the texts. Books providing more textual details are those of Judith Hauptman, Joel Wolowelsky, Avi Weiss, and Eliezer Berkovits.

In a moving series of essays, Blu Greenberg seeks to reconcile her new-found commitment to feminism with her life-long commitment to Orthodox Judaism. Several of the essays focus on specific themes such as taharat ha-mishpachah or women's role in prayer services. This book was published in the early 1980s and is now somewhat dated (as the political landscapes of both feminism and Judaism have changed so much), but it's still touching and thought-provoking. I wish Greenberg would publish a new edition with an additional essay or two reflecting on women and Judaism in the last twenty years!

I had the privilege of hearing and meeting Mrs. Greenberg while in my undergraduate studies and found her lecture presentation to be the most intellectually and religiously stimulating event of those years. With this experience, I eagerly pore over virtually everything she publishes, and *On Women and Judaism* was no exception. I read and re-read the book over several months: sometimes wanting to toss it into the waste basket as it angered me so; other times wondering how I'd survived as a traditionally religious woman without it.

Mrs. Greenberg weaves her own experiences into her vast knowledge of scripture and history. The result enlightens the reader and bridges the chasm between tradition and feminism without compromising either side--a nearly impossible feat.

Highly recommended.

When I was first recommended this book, I was unsure how I would react to it, but ended up enjoying it greatly. Though my own theology is much closer to Reform, I found Greenberg's balance between feminism and Orthodox tradition quite interesting. Though at many times I disagreed with Greenberg, reading her essays has made me reflect on my own religious feminism.

I enjoyed this book and I'd highly recommend it -- it's become the "classic" modern Orthodox text on the status of women, and it was very "formative" for me in my own religious growth. Greenberg, as I've said before, loves Judaism, and takes seriously both its challenges and the forces of modernity.

However, I found that her chapter on "The Issue of Abortion" was a little forced. Surprisingly, I *agree* with some of her conclusions, but I disagree with her premise that we can be less reverent about issues of life and death in the modern age. Greenberg suggests that because children used to die in infancy and early childhood, large families were essential, but now, with longer lives almost guaranteed, we can kill off babies in utero. That piece of the puzzle just doesn't fit for me.

Apart from this one chapter, which seems to depart from her usual rigour when dealing with matters of tradition, this is an excellent response to many "women's issues" -- most of which, like divorce, are really issues BOTH genders need to evaluate in a good, honest light.

A previous reviewer has said she ought to re-release this book, and I agree. Much has changed, politically and in Jewish religious spheres, since the first edition of Women and Judaism, and I'd love to see how Greenberg's views have evolved over the years.

Although I am not Jewish myself I am doing a degree in Theology and Jewish studies and I thought this book was great. Blu Greenberg approaches the issues of sexism within Judaism from a very sensible none biased viewpoint. She treats the reader with respect and although she does not assume that the reader has a high degree of understanding the way she explains certain Jewish terms is with respect. The reader of this book is never led to feel as though they lack understanding. If you are looking for a book that helps you to understand the role of women in Judaism, or if you are Jewish and want to understand the issues of women in Judaism better, this book is for you! For a none radical, understandable overview of women in Judaism....read this book!