Theology

Judith Plaskow inducted into National Women’s Hall of Fame

March 5, 2024

On March 5, 2024, Judith Plaskow, often regarded as the first Jewish feminist theologian, was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. She is the first inductee whose work is focused on Judaism, and even the first to have a degree in religious studies.

Book cover that reads "JPS Tanakh: Gender-Sensitive Edition" - blue and brown letters on white background

March 12, 2024

What's a "Gender-Sensitive" Bible Translation?

Rabbi Beth Lieberman and

Dr. Elias Sacks

The new translation empowers readers to view the Bible with fresh eyes.

Topics: Feminism, Bible, Theology

December 18, 2023

Grief is a Desert in 'Death Valley'

Abby Richmond

The poignant and often hilarious novel made me consider my own experiences with grief and (metaphorical) lostness.

Topics: Fiction, Theology, Ritual

Episode 65: Regendering the Torah (Transcript)

Joy Ladin

Joy Ladin is the Gottesman Professor of English at Stern College, a prolific poet, and a central figure in transgender theology. Her numerous written works reframe classical Jewish theological questions from a transfeminist perspective.

Printed card with inscription, “May our eyes behold your return in mercy to Zion.”

Daughter Zion (Bat Tzion)

“Daughter Zion” or “Fair Zion” (in Hebrew bat tzion) is the personification of Jerusalem in poetic and prophetic literature. Initially, the city is positively likened to a daughter, protected under God’s special regard, but later, under the Babylonian siege, she is devastated, even ravaged. However, when Jerusalem is rebuilt, the daughter is forsaken no longer, returning to God’s grace in the prophecies of consolation.

Louise Glück

Louise Glück, American poet, essayist, and educator, was the recipient of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature, as well as numerous other awards for her writing; she also served as poet laureate of the United States from 2003 to 2004. One finds the personal, the mythological, and the Biblical woven intricately throughout Glück’s oeuvre.

Camp counselor surrounded by campers, all wearing white. Sitting on benches during services.

November 4, 2019

In the Image of God?

Mica Maltzman

When I was younger, around the time of my consecration, my vision of God was simple.

Topics: Jewish Education, Judaism-Reform, Theology

Rachel Adler

Rachel Adler has always challenged her religion from within, from her early days as a pioneer of the Jewish feminist movement to her later ordination as a rabbi.

February 4, 2015

Meet Me at Sinai: An Interview with Judith Plaskow

Judith Rosenbaum

JWA's Executive Director Judith Rosenbaum spoke to Judith Plaskow about her groundbreaking work as a Jewish feminist, the unfinished work of feminism, and what she would change about Standing Again at Sinai were it published in 2015.

Topics: Feminism, Bible, Midrash and Aggadah, Theology

Miriam's Cup, by Naomi Glassman & Zohar Jolles

Tamara Cohen

We knew that Jewish feminism needed to be suffused through all of Jewish practice so that it would be impossible to ignore.

January 24, 2013

How I Came to My Table

Vanessa Zoltan

I was seated at one of those grand, heavy, deep brown mahogany tables in a beautiful room with two walls of windows. To my left, sat my mother, visiting for a few days from Los Angeles. Then to my right, and all the way around the table sat 10 classmates and my professor. We were talking about my favorite topic: How do you do good?

Topics: Schools, Theology

Tikva Frymer-Kensky, 1943 - 2006

As a scholar, Dr. Frymer-Kensky challenged her students to study deeply and obtain mastery of their subjects; any less was insufficient. In her writing, she modeled both rigor and relevance…. She wrote in order to bring us the ancient and to create a more just present.

American women mark death of British author Grace Aguilar

November 23, 1847

A group of Jewish women in Charleston, South Carolina deplored the death of British author Grace Aguilar as a "national calamity."

Rachel Adler receives National Jewish Book Award

March 11, 1999

Rachel Adler was awarded the National Jewish Book Award for Jewish Thought on March 11, 1999.

Spirituality in the United States

Jewish women’s spirituality developed historically within the confines of a patriarchal tradition. Over time, feminists have developed rituals and created spaces that honor the unique experiences of women.

Judith Plaskow

Judith Plaskow is the first Jewish feminist to identify herself as a theologian. Deeply learned in classical and modern Christian theology yet profoundly committed to her own Judaism, Plaskow created a distinctively Jewish theology acutely conscious of its own structure and categories and in dialogue with the feminist theologies of other religions.

Soloveitchik, Rabbi Joseph Dov

Joseph Dov Soloveitchik shaped Jewish practice and public opinion through the era of second-wave feminism. Despite his sometimes progressive actions, Soloveitchik maintained that women and men had separate religious and familial roles. These positions from the leader of the Modern Orthodox community cemented resistance to Orthodox feminists’ demands to increase their participation in Jewish rituals.

Matriarchs: A Liturgical and Theological Category

Among egalitarian religious congregations throughout the world, the most popular addition to the traditional liturgy is the mention of the Matriarchs in birkat avot (the blessing of the ancestors), the opening blessing of the Amidah.

Tehilla Lichtenstein

Tehilla Lichtenstein co-founded the Society of Jewish Science with her husband as an alternative to Christian Science, creating a small but passionate following and carving a place for herself as a congregational leader.

Judaic Studies in the United States

When the Association for Jewish Studies (AJS) was established in 1969 as the professional organization of scholars in the interdisciplinary field of Judaic studies, there were no women among its founders. Within the past few generations, however, a field that was traditionally dominated by men has gradually witnessed the emergence of many women scholars.

Iggeret Ha-Kodesh

The Iggeret ha-Kodesh is a Kabbalistic work with contested authorship, written in the second half of the twelfth century. The work is a kabbalistic interpretation of sexual relations and its sacred spirituality between a married couple.

Abraham Geiger

Abraham Geiger (1810-1874) was one of the most influential Jewish thinkers of the nineteenth century. He was one of the major intellectual leaders and founders of the Reform movement in Germany and a strong supporter of Jews entering European society. As part of his vision of Judaism, he argued for a Judaism oriented around the home and domestic life, but also a Judaism that both elevated and sidelined the women that had long created that domestic life.

Feminist Theology

Jewish feminist theology focuses on central Jewish categories, themes, and modes of expression—for example, God, prayer, Torah, and halakhah—and asks who created them and whose interests they reflect. It raises meta-questions about Jewish tradition.

Annette Daum

A deeply religious feminist, Annette Daum dedicated her life to two causes: interfaith dialogue and feminism. Among other leadership positions, she coordinated interreligious affairs at the Union of American Hebrew congregations, edited the journal Interreligious Currents, and organized various task forces focused on gender equality and Jewish-Christian feminist dialogue.

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