We are well into the year. New books aren’t so new anymore but one topic is universal and has even been given its own celebratory month – women.
March is Women’s History Month, a time to recognize the accomplishments of at least half of the population. Women have “been written out of history” for much of both oral and recorded history. Until recently, women hid and were hidden.
The women in the Torah and Jewish history are often given short shrift. Where are the women scientists, artists, inventors, authors, reformers, thinkers? They are overshadowed by their fathers, husbands, brothers, sons. They frequently have made astounding achievements but their names are not known or are acknowledged in the name of a male.
We all know Eve whose curiosity set mankind’s fate; Rachel whose duplicity determined the genealogy of the Jewish people; Deborah whose military leadership overshadowed that of the men around her, and so on. But how many other astounding Jewish women quickly come to mind?
Take a look at the following books and fill in some of the gaps in your knowledge of Jewish women. I have included both non-fiction and historical fiction for it’s often through fiction that we really appreciate the lives of those we are reading about. And check out the Jewish Women’s Archive website about Jewish women as well as this short video about an inspiring athlete.
These and scores of other books about Jewish women are available in the Library.
Calof, Rachel Calof’s Story: Jewish homesteader on the northern plains. Yes, there were Jewish mid-western farmers and most of them had wives.
Cameron, The Fruit of Her Hands: the story of Shira of Ashkenaz (Fiction). The fictionalized life story of the wife of a famous medieval French rabbi.
Carmon, Notorious RBG: the life and times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Felder, Fifty Jewish Women Who Changed the World.
Gabler, Barbra Streisand: redefining beauty,femininity,and power.
Gluck, Fiorello’s Sister: Gemma La Guardia Gluck’s story. The remarkable story of Mayor LaGuardia’s sister and her husband caught in wartime Europe.
Golinkin, The Status of Women in Jewish Law: responsa
Hyman (ed.), Jewish Women in America. Two volume comprehensive encyclopedia of American Jewish women through the latter apart of the 20th century.
Lerner, The Bridge Ladies. This sometimes poignant memoir will resonate with women of a certain age and their daughters.
Levy, I dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg makes her mark. Sydney Taylor Award winning picture book biography for young readers. (Juvenile)
Markel, Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909. You may never have heard of Clara Lemlich but she made her voice heard in her time.(Juvenile)
Rosen, Biblical Women Unbound: Counter-tales. Imagines the lives of Biblical heroines and fills in details through midrashic tellings.
Rubin, Fireflies in the dark: the story of Friedl Dicker-Brandeis and the children of Terezin. During the terrible days of incarceration in Terezin, this accomplished artist kept children’s hopes alive. (Juvenile)
Taitz, Remarkable Jewish Women: rebels, rabbis, and other women from Biblical times to the present. Brief portraits of more than eighty well-known and not so well-known accomplished Jewish women.
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