Some error occured while loading the Quick View. Please close the Quick View and try reloading the page.
What does it mean to re-vision Torah?
"I use the title ReVisions for this book because I want readers both to revise—in the classic definition of reexamine and alter—and to see the text anew, to have a new vision, a 'revision,' of Torah.... It begins with the notion that women see the text differently than men do, ask different questions and bring different answers.... This book is not about rewriting the Torah. It is about rereading it."
—from the Introduction
Rabbi Elyse Goldstein—woman, rabbi, scholar, and feminist—challenges and defends, rereads and reinterprets the ancient text, revealing to modern readers a way to see Judaism anew, for a new vision—a "revision"—of the Torah. Goldstein boldly brings the Torah into a contemporary context at the same time she honestly reconciles its past.
"Those who seek to connect to Torah and Jewish practice will discover fresh strategies for imagining a Judaism which reflects and respects women."
—Vanessa L. Ochs, author of Words on Fire; Department of Religious Studies, University of Virginia
"A re-reading of the Torah from a woman's perspective that is both liberal and traditional, accepting and critical.... Her discussions will open new avenues of understanding for any reader."
—Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut, editor of The Torah: A Modern Commentary
"Combines original insight with thorough consideration of classical Jewish commentaries to produce a fascinating set of fresh readings of the Torah and of Jewish religious practice."
—Prof. Susannah Heschel, Eli Black Professor of Jewish Studies, Dartmouth College
"In wrestling with the thorny and seemingly intractable issue of what feminists can and should do about the sexist content in Judaism ... blazes a trail that leads to the transformation of Judaism from within.... A pioneering and inspiring 'Guide for the Perplexed' for feminists of our time."
—Aviva Cantor, author of Jewish Women, Jewish Men: The Legacy of Patriarchy in Jewish Life
"The book is a thought-provoking commentary, revealing the female spirit found in the Torah. Synagogue libraries would find this book a good addition to their collection of Torah study and women's issues."
—Association of Jewish Libraries Newsletter
Acknowledgments
Foreword by Rabbi Irving (Yitz) Greenberg
Introduction
PART I. Women in the Torah
Introduction
Power and Powerlessness
Male and Female Were They Created: Eve, Lilith and the Snake
Leah and Rachel: A Study in Relationships
The Women of the Exodus Story: A Study in Community
The Daughters of Tzelophehad
PART II. Blood and Water: The Stuff of Life
Introduction
Blood and Its Symbolism in the Torah
Menstruation and the Laws of Niddah
A Jewish Feminist Reexamination of Menstruation
Blood and Men: A Feminist Look at Brit Milah
Women and Water in the Torah
A Feminist Reexamination of Mikveh
PART III. God, Goddess, Gender and the Torah
Introduction
Searching for the Female Spirit in the Torah
Female Imagery and Paganism
The Place of the Goddess and Shekhinah in Judaism
God-Language
Epilogue
Glossary
Notes
Bibliography and Suggested Further Reading
Index