From Booklist
It was only in the early 1970s that the first woman was ordained a rabbi by the Reform branch of Judaism. Now women are making their mark on Torah commentary, bringing their own unique interpretations to the religion's most important writings. In this book, women rabbis write their own commentaries on the 54 Torah portions. As editor Goldstein admits in the introduction, some feminists feel that the Bible is hopelessly sexist and encourage women to disregard its teachings. Other women become "skilled apologists," fixing the blame on the reader not on the Bible itself. These rabbis try to understand the writings in a new way. Employing midrash, the traditional rabbinic use of parable and metaphor to extend the text, they explore the lives and motives of Biblical women, including Leah, Tamar, Dinah, Miriam, and others. With sometimes very little to work with, the rabbis "write ourselves in, reinterpret ourselves in, or critique our absence." Throughout, the ideas raised are worthy of discussion and the writing is uniformly high in quality. The women rabbis give new life to ancient sisters. Ilene Cooper
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Book Description
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.


From the Inside Flap
Here, for the first time, women’s unique experiences and perspectives are applied to the entire Five Books of Moses, offering all of us the first comprehensive commentary by women. In this ground-breaking book, more than 50 women rabbis come together to offer us inspiring insights on the Torah, following the traditional weekly reading. Included are commentaries by the first women ever ordained in the Reform, Reconstructionist and Conservative movements, and by many other women across these denominations who serve in the rabbinate in a variety of ways. This rich resource offers new perspectives to inspire all of us to gain deeper meaning from the Torah and a heightened appreciation of Judaism.


About the Author
Rabbi Elyse Goldstein is widely recognized as an innovative and thought-provoking teacher of Torah. One of the leading rabbis of a new generation, she is the Director of Kolel, The Adult Center for Liberal Jewish Learning, a full-time progressive adult Jewish learning center. Goldstein lectures frequently throughout North America. Her articles have been widely published in both scholarly and popular journals including Lilith, Neshama, the Journal of Reform Judaism, and the Canadian Women’s Studies Journal. She is the author of the award-winning ReVisions: Seeing Torah through a Feminist Lens (Jewish Lights).

FROM THE PUBLISHER

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 groundbreaking book, more than 50 women rabbis come together to offer their own inspiring commentaries on the Torah, in a week-by-week format. 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.