Yentl's Revenge The Next Wave of Jewish

Thanks in large part to the struggles of their activist foremothers, today’s young Jewish women have a dizzying array of spiritual options. Yentl’s Revenge chronicles a range of experiences lived by an entire generation of women, from Judeo-pagan witches to young Orthodox mothers, from rabbis to sex educators.

Contributors ponder Jewish transgenderdom, Jewish body image, Jewish punk, the stereotype of the Jewish American Princess, intermarriage, circumcision, faith, and intolerance. Essays include "Bubbe Got Back: Tales of a Jewish Caboose” by Ophira Edut, and "On Being a Jewish Feminist Valley Girl” by Tobin Belzer.

An associate editor for Lilith magazine, Danya Ruttenberg is also a poet and journalist. She lives in San Francisco. Susannah Heschel, editor of On Being
a Jewish Feminist, lives in New York City.

Foreword It's Not about Equality---It's about Who's in Charge!

xv

Susannah Heschel

Introduction

xix

Danya Ruttenberg

The Nice Jewish Boy

3

(11)

A. C. Hall

Everything about us was so ``normal'' it was galling

We met through a friend

On the Fourth of July, for God's sake

He was a nice-looking, intelligent fellow who favored button-down shirts

With stripes.

From Riot Grrl to Yeshiva Girl, or How I Became My Own Damn Rabbi

14

(10)

Jennifer Bleyer

I think that my foray into Orthodoxy shaped me as a Jew in much the same way that being a riot grrl shaped me as a feminist

I learned from both experiences that everything can become dangerously entrenched in its own orthodoxy and has to be shaken up in order to remain dynamic and relevant.

Bubbe Got Back Tales of a Jewess with Caboose

24

(7)

Ophira Edut

Thanks to two decades of hip-hop and the (literal) overexposure of Jennifer Lopez, big butts have now settled comfortably into public discourse

Yet Jews have not embraced the cultural acceptance of thick chicks with round behinds---despite the fact that there are many among our ranks.

Parenting as a Religious Jewish Feminist

31

(13)

Haviva Ner-David

It is fascinating to me that even when Michal is wearing a ribbon in her hair or a feminine outfit with flowers, people assume that she is a boy because she is wearing tzitzit (ritual fringes)---that someone like me, an observant Jew, would sooner put a dress on my son than tzitzit on my daughter.

I Was a Cliche

44

(8)

Dina Hornreich

Identity is messy; it is the changing experiences, the uniquely shifting degrees between labels

Can I be both gay and straight? Can I be both masculine and feminine? Can I be both agnostic and religious? The answer to all these questions is yes.

Composting Judaism On Ecology, Illness and Spirituality Re-Planted

52

(15)

Sharon Wachsler

Environmental contaminants disabled me

Given no other accessible setting, I rediscovered the community of my birth, Judaism

And in rediscovering Judaism I recovered my earliest and purest loves: animals, plants, the living earth.

Not Lost A Jewish Feminist Atheist Meditates on Intermarriage

67

(10)

Sarah Coleman

Call me biased, but I have a strong conviction that interfaith unions are far from the end of Judaism as we know it

In fact, I believe they might be a healthy way forward.

Blood Simple Transgender Theory Hits the Mikveh

77

(11)

Danya Ruttenberg

The ideas being worked through in the trans community may be exactly the tools feminists have been seeking for a long time

Certainly, they may help Jewish feminists solve the menstruation dilemma, and help us figure out how to save a great ritual that's been perverted by a wretched history.

The Word

88

(14)

Eve Rosenbaum

He tells me to be careful or my parents will lock me in the basement and try to brainwash me back into religion

I tell him I don't mind being the crazy woman locked away

``But,'' I say, ``it's been done to death.''

Challah for the Queen of Heaven

102

(10)

Ryiah Lilith

While Witchcraft can easily absorb multicultural practices and beliefs, Judaism can only be stretched so far before it ceases to be Judaism

I wanted to determine if I could stretch Judaism far enough that its margins overlapped with Goddess worship and Witchcraft.

Sexy Rabbi

112

(7)

Karen (Chai) Levy

Just because I want to be an accessible and caring religious leader does not mean that I have no personal boundaries.

I Was a Teenage Zionist

119

(12)

Ellen Friedrichs

Growing up, I envisioned Israel as a utopia of egalitarianism, a place where feminism was almost built into the system

There were always those who tried to tell us different, but I was too busy picturing myself with bulging muscles bouncing along on a tractor to pay much attention.

You Take Lilith, I'll Take Eve A Closer Look at the World's Second Feminist

131

(23)

Yiskah (Jessica) Rosenfeld

We can only go forward as we dare to reclaim Eve just as we have reclaimed Lilith---reading between the lines to understand her motivations, to separate her true voice from those attributed to her.

To Open My Mouth and Speak What I Know

154

(7)

Ursula Katan

It is my people's survivor mentality that ostracized me as an incest survivor in their midst

We divide our violation into public abuse and private abuse: While the survival of public abuse evokes cultural solidarity, pride and strength, the survival of private abuse is shameful and divisive.

You Wear a Kippah?

161

(7)

Emily Wages

My friends respect and honor the religious practices of other cultures or peoples, but that a semi-intelligent person in contemporary American society could be inspired by a Western religion is, to them, a bit puzzling.

United Jewish Feminist Front

168

(13)

Loolwa Khazzoom

As I came to understand, ``Jewish'' meant ``Ashkenazi.'' It did not mean my heritage, and it did not mean me

Any people and any traditions that were not from Northern Europe were, according to the messages of my childhood, not ``really'' Jewish.

On Being A Jewish Feminist Valley Girl

181

(8)

Tobin Belzer

As a Valley Girl, complaining was one of my fundamental methods of communication

As a feminist, I'm empowered to complain

I'm as comfortable now naming a social injustice as I was sending a salad back when the dressing was not ``on the side.''

Sacred Rose

189

(5)

Billie Michele Mandel

I told my parents that I wouldn't be returning to Hebrew school after the bat mitzvah

I can't remember what version of the truth I told them, but I'm pretty sure I didn't say that God had deserted me and I was angry about it.

The ``Big O'' Also Means ``Olam''

194

(12)

Hanne Blank

He can't afford to ignore where pleasure can take us

To teach ethics and honesty, to facilitate joyful awe in the possibilities of the bodies G-d has given us, is to do the work of helping people live better, healthier lives

This is a Jewish occupation.

Of These, Solitude

206

(6)

Dalia Sofer

When my father vanished on a crisp September day only to return from jail a month later, relieved of charges of espionage for Israel but restricted from leaving Iran, I learned that downplaying religious difference isn't an option, it's a requirement.

Contributors

212

(4)

Glossary

216

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Yentl's Revenge The Next Wave of Jewish Feminism

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials