Sins Of Omission The Jewish Community's Reaction To Domestic Violence

In a congregation of devoted worshippers gathered for Shabbat services at the local synagogue, it may be difficult to accept how many wives go home with their husbands to ongoing physical and emotional abuse. InSins of Omission, author Carol Goodman Kaufman offers a compelling investigation of the Jewish community's reaction or nonreaction to domestic violence. Concerned with the sins of the community more than the sins of the abuser, Goodman Kaufman finds that the Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform rabbis and community leaders are not doing enough and are not informed enough to help the abused women in their congregations get the support, protection, and guidance they need. Through her many insightful interviews with survivors of abuse, rabbis, and lay community leaders, the author takes a hard look at the Jewish community, its rules, regulations, and followers, and discovers the ways in which it helps and hinders victims of abuse.

Carol Goodman Kaufman is Visiting Scholar at the Brudnick Center for the Study of Violence and Conflict at Northeastern University, Boston.