Debra Renee Kaufman, Rutgers University Press, 1991
I recently bought this book in the USA; I have mixed feelings about it. It is listed under ‘Women’s Studies/Sociology’, but is really a book of feminist self-examination. The author, clearly fascinated by the very idea that well-educated women would choose to become Orthodox Jews, tackles her interviews and analysis with an obvious feminist preconception. However, she is honest enough to admit that while she has not been persuaded to become religious, she has is open to ‘to new styles of sociological inquiry, to the recasting of theories and to the rethinking of feminism.’ The author interviewed 150 newly-observant women, whose experiences and particularly motives for becoming religious form the main part of the book. She clearly acknowledges the differences between various styles of Judaism (Chassidic, Chabad, Modern-Orthodox, etc.). As one would expect, quite a lot of the book looks with some perplexity at the role of women in Judaism and the issues (if any) that the newly-observant women face as a result. An interesting book – don’t buy it, borrow it.
Rachel's Daughters
