Would you like to hear the perspectives of seven different female Jewish bloggers about haircovering? Melissa Amster, the Merryland Girl, is hosting Orthodox Women Talk today, and we’ve got plenty different opinions represented: from those who cover, those who don’t, those who found it challenging to get used to, and those who love it. We have women who wear wigs, scarves, and everything in between.
Care to check it out? Read here.
I’m pretty much a book addict. I’ll read almost any genre. Occasionally, I’ll ignore essentials like eating, drinking, and using the restroom in order to finish a scene I’m reading. I’ve never taken one of those Goodreads challenges to read a specific number of books because I’m already reading well over a hundred books a year. Setting goal just seems pointless for me. (Notice I said, “for me.” I think other people can benefit from them greatly because it encourages them to read more or to read more genres they might not otherwise venture into.)
Anyway, I’ve read lots of books, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I read many new books. Our family’s budget would not be able to support my reading habit if I purchased my drugs supplies. We go to at least one library at least once a week. However, there’s usually a lag time between when a book is published and when it arrives at the library. And if the writer is less well-known, the lag might be even longer. If your 2014 book isn’t on this list, don’t be offended. I just haven’t found it on the shelf at the library yet!
With that in mind, I present…
My Favorite New Books of 2014 Continue reading
Fradl Adams interviews inspirational women, particularly baalos teshuvah, for The Lakewood Shopper. Her column appears weekly. Anyway, she asked to speak to me — focusing primarily on my writing for Jewish teens and tweens — about a month ago, and the interview runs this week. For those of us outside NJ, she provided this link.
I’m much more used to interviewing people than being interviewed. It was definitely WEEEIRD, and I kept thinking, “Do I sound like that?”
Want to know what Orthodox women think about? Today I am appearing with several other amazing bloggers on the latest round of “Orthodox Women Talk.” We’re answering a reader’s question about integrating spirituality into every day life.
You can find the post here, and don’t forget to leave comments or even ask a question for the next round.
This week’s Jewish Home L.A. contains my review of Circle, Arrow, Spiral: Exploring Gender in Judaism, recently published by Mekor Press and distributed by Menucha Publishers.
Miriam Kosman’s outstanding new book about gender within Judaism
Miriam Kosman‘s new book appears at a pivotal point in Jewish history. The role of women in Judaism has dominated the headlines of Jewish media outlets in recent years. Usually, Hareidim are made out to be the bad guys: according to most writers, Hareidi men bully women, look down on us, and short change us in any way humanly possible.
For someone like me — a feminist who willingly joined the ranks of those observant Jews who lean to the right — this kind of “news” makes us want to bang our heads into the wall in frustration. Not only do we perceive the Jewish world differently, many of us chose Orthodoxy in some part because mainstream feminism had failed us. Frankly, we felt more supported and appreciated as human beings, as Jews, and as women within our new community than we did in in our former, non-Orthodox world. We feel respected by the vast majority of Hareidi men, including by our husbands, sons, and rabbis. And while we do see plenty of areas in which our community can and should improve, many of the issues targeted by reporters and crusaders hold completely different meanings for us than for secular people.
Many of the recent books about Judaism written by Modern Orthodox authors have compounded the problem. They report on our world as outsiders (sometimes trumpeting all along how because they are, loosely-speaking, “Orthodox” they therefore have an insider view), and often articulate outrage while playing fast and loose with facts. Yet, until now, few books for the English speaking world have expressed the genuine insider perspective as to why Orthodox women don’t participate in many time-bound positive commandments, are excluded from certain communal rules, and so on.
Miriam Kosman‘s new book remedies that. Continue reading
Rivki Silver from Life in the Married Lane organized a Jewish women’s roundtable, Orthodox Women Talk. Today’s topic is how to deal with long services in synagogue when you may or may not understand the language. 7 bloggers — including me — give responses over at this week’s host’s, Keshet Starr’s, blog. I found myself agreeing with a lot of what the other women said (okay, pretty much all of it). One of the things that I liked most was that the women selected reflect different stages of life and different backgrounds. Check it out. (If you’re so inclined…)
Rebecca Klempner 