The current return to spiritual values has spawned a surge of interest in the ancient goddess-based religions as a remedy to a long tradition of misogyny in the Western religions.

But how accurate are these current representations of the goddess in polytheism? And did Judeo-Christian religion really turn its back on women? These are some of the questions that scholar and feminist Tivka Frymer-Kensky sets out to answer in this iconoclastic study of gender in religions past and present. Her argument, illustrated with fascinating accounts of myth and ritual dating back to the early days of...

Reading the Women of the Bible takes up two of the most significant intellectual and religious issues of our day: the experiences of women in a patriarchal society and the relevance of the Bible to modern life.

Over the past few decades, there has been a dramatic and unprecedented shift in JewishChristian relations, including signs of a new, improved Christian attitude towards Jews. "Christianity in Jewish Terms" is a Jewish theological response to the profound changes that have taken place in Christian thought. The book is divided into ten chapters, each of which features a main essay, written by a Jewish scholar, that explores the meaning of a set of Christian beliefs. Following the essay are responses from a second Jewish scholar and a Christian scholar. Designed to generate new conversations...

From Jerusalem to the Edge of Heaven fuses different media and styles to explore vastly different yet inescapably connected moments in Jewish history: the ancient Babylonian yeshivah at Pumbedita; Jerusalem, a decade after independence; and Gaza during the Intifada. In his explorations, the author re-imagines essential concepts and defining structures of Jewish history and identity in profound, and profoundly disquieting, ways. The theme of children pervades the writings - lost children, perpetual children, and one child, Alma Dee, in particular. The theme of children is highlighted as...

This striking new contribution to gender studies demonstrates the essential role of Israelite and Near East law in the historical analysis of gender. The theme of these studies of Babylonian, Hittite, Assyrian, and Israelite law is this: What is the significance of gender in the formulation of ancient law and custom? Feminist scholarship is enriched by these studies in family history and the status of women in antiquity. At the same time, conventional legal history is repositioned, as new and classical texts are interpreted from the vantage point of feminist theory and social history. Papers...