The rules that govern Jewish Orthodox women’s bodies, in particular those of ritual purity and immersion, are often criticized as patriarchal and an expression of oppression or domination. This study challenges the structuralist analysis of the regimen of ritual purity by examining how religious women themselves live and experience this system. The authors interviewed 30 Orthodox Jewish women living in Israel who observe these rituals in an effort to hear their experiences. The women’s expression of their experiences moved beyond the (...) conventional, schematic abstractions of the oppression-empowerment dichotomy into a multitextured range of responses. This article presents the ways in which they voiced this multiplicity of feelings and experiences. (shrink)

This paper begins by attempting to define midrash as a distinct genre of classical rabbinic literature in order to understand the significance of the term in contemporary discourse. It will then examine what Jewish feminists mean when they apply the term, midrash, to their work and consider the extent to which such appropriation is useful or reasonable. The paper will then outline, with my own suggestions, how midrash might be usefully appropriated for feminist ends and the paper will conclude with (...) a concrete example. (shrink)

This paper offers a contemporary pan-denominational and postmodern Jewish theology. It utilizes the tools of Jewish theological scholarship within a uniquely midrashic format. This format of creative narrative text and scholarly commentary grounds these theological principles within the recognizable stylized system of traditional Jewish exegesis. Rabyam’s theology and the accompanying integral commentary reflect and elucidate feminist, postmodern theological concerns and attitudes. It is my contention that this unique theology is a vital contribution to an inclusive twenty-first century understanding of the (...) Divine. Though the principles of faith alone speak to a general audience, when combined with the annotated commentary, they fill a gap in current scholarship and contribute to a more holistic understanding of a post-modern Judaism not confined to a particular denomination or particular ethos. These principles reflect a Jewish world that is ‘fragmentary, contradictory and turbulent’, as theologian Emile Fackenheim argued. (shrink)