Standing again at Sinai : Judaism from a feminist perspective

Plaskow's central thesis (with which I agree) is that Jewish tradition is fundamentally male centered and rooted in patriarchal culture, and she does a good job of showing how--from the texts, to halakha, to the very language we use.

What this does, however, is define negative space. We can see

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what is missing--the language and narratives of women's experience. What we do not know is what should fill it. The evidence we do have of women's religious practice in the past, such as the tkhines she references, show only what women might have added (in this case to the liturgy), not how they have related to the existing text. Plaskow has a variety of ideas, but at times, she risks essentializing women's experience, such as her questioning of women's relationship to law or motherhood.

This book was written in 1988 (per the foreword; published in 1990) and as such, is a little dated (the section on women's relationships with the modern state of Israel is notably so, but to be honest, not getting caught up in the politics of that issue is not a bad thing). Plaskow is upfront about her own biases, which is helpful, but nonetheless, more traditionally observant women may find it difficult to relate to her Reform-turned-women's havurah suggestions.

Despite this critique--I found myself disagreeing frequently--I recommend this book to anyone interested in Jewish feminism, including the Orthodox. She forces you to examine how you view Jewish text and tradition and how you might define that space for women in Jewish history. You may shake your head and laugh at language about the Goddess, or her (somewhat slapdash) treatment of how rabbinic Judaism is only the survivor, not the only branch of Judaism. But you'll have to think about your answers.

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