Less than 30 years ago it was unheard of for a woman to be a rabbi. Now, not only are women being ordained as rabbis; they are changing the way all people--not just women, not just Jews--think and feel about Judaism.
In this ground-breaking book, more than 50 women rabbis come together to offer their own inspiring commentaries on the Torah, following the traditional weekly reading. For the first time, women's unique experiences and perspectives are applied to the entire Five Books of Moses, offering us the first comprehensive commentary by women.
Included are commentaries by the first women ever ordained in the Reform, Reconstructionist and Conservative movements; women from across these denominations who are congregational leaders, Hillel college campus rabbis, community service professionals, academics and chaplains; women from the United States, Canada, Israel and South America. This book offers a women's perspective and a feminist perspective, to inspire all of us in gaining deeper meaning from the Torah.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Women's Voices:
Goldstein, Rabbi Elyse, editor. "The Women's Torah Commentary: New Insights from Women Rabbis on the 54 Weekly Torah Portions", Jewish Lights, 2000. Women's Voices Amos Lassen We see more and more women rabbis all the time and they have valuable voices to lend to the study of Holy Scripture. Rabbi Elyse Goldstein gives us thoughts on the Torah arranged by weekly portions making it an excellent reference book. Before I go to services on Saturday morning, after I consult several commentaries... more info
Good Points of View:
Good points of view, but not all-encompassing analysis. Not militantly feminist, but focuses on a woman's perspective. A nice companion to the commentary one normally finds.
Feminist analysis in dazzling variety:
Is part of your Sabbath preparation or observance picking up a book and reading a short (5-10 minute) essay about the parasha of the week --- or would you like it to be? If so The Women's Torah Commentary (Rabbi Elyse Goldstein, ed., Jewish Lights, 2000) may be just what you could use. The book has 54 essays --- one for each Torah portion. Each essay in this anthology is written by a different ordained woman Rabbi, or one who is soon to be ordained. The book provides a distinctly feminist analysis. The... more info
a pitiful enterprise:
My review will be short and to the point. If these radical feminist women "rabbis" are so pretentious and arrogant as to claim that the Holy Torah was the work of some male chauvinist pigs - God forbid - then, I must ask, why bother re-writing it and re-interpreting it at all? Just call it what it is, and let it go! What a pitiful waste of time it was to spend all that time explaining a text that was written by some lowlife male Rabbis who obviously hated women with a passion! The truth is, of course,... more info
