When Vanessa Ochs begins to suspect her various physical ailments are due to her leading an ”unsanctified life,” she decides to travel to Jerusalem with her family to explore the sacred books of Judaism. Armed with a list of institutions and the names of women who specialize in teaching these sacred texts, Ochs sets out on a journey of discovery. She forges a personal relationship with her mentors, women who are determined to disprove the claim of Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus: ”The words of the Torah should be burnt rather than taught to women.” As her year in Jerusalem draws to a close, Ochs begins to find a way to reconcile her feminist views with her quest to live a life according to laws shaped by the ”sexist” views of traditional Judaism.Part scholarly investigation, part anecdotal memoir, Words on Fire is an accessible portrait of a remote world and a fascinating, firsthand account of the clash between feminism and Judaism.
Vanessa L. Ochs is the author of Inventing Jewish Ritual (JPS), winner of a 2007 National Jewish Book Award. Her other books include Sarah Laughed, The Jewish Dream Book (with Elizabeth Ochs), The Book of Jewish Sacred Practices (edited with Irwin Kula), Words on Fire: One Woman's Journey into the Sacred, and Safe and Sound: Protecting Your Child In An Unpredictable World. For her writing, she was awarded a Creative Writing Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Dr. Ochs is an associate professor in the Department of Religious Studies and Jewish Studies Program at the University of Virginia where she teaches courses in Judaism, anthropology of religion, Jewish feminism, and spiritual writing. Ochs earned her B.A. in Drama and French from Tufts University, an M.F.A. in Theater from Sarah Lawrence College, and Ph.D. in Anthropology of Religion from Drew University.
She lives and gardens in Charlottesville, Virginia with her husband, theologian Peter Ochs; they are the parents of two grown daughters, Elizabeth Ochs and Juliana Ochs Dweck and grandparents of Harry and Emma Dweck.
