Married to the Rabbi: Sixty Spouses of Retired Reform Rabbis in Their Own Words Contributor(s): Patz, Naomi (Editor), Maslin, Judith (Editor) |
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ISBN: 1734393009 ISBN-13: 9781734393002 Publisher: Faith Publishing Company OUR PRICE: $22.49 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: December 2019 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Religion | Judaism - Reform - Biography & Autobiography | Personal Memoirs - History | Jewish - General |
Physical Information: 0.97" H x 6" W x 9" (1.40 lbs) 436 pages |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: "Married to the Rabbi is a sometimes delightful, sometimes upsetting, but always interesting view into the world of the Reform rabbi's spouse and family in a period of American Jewish life that is already becoming history. That world -- and the role rabbinic spouses have played in it -- too often has been both misunderstood and undervalued. Naomi Patz and Judith Maslin have assembled and edited a fascinating book." This volume describes how the role of the rebbetzin has changed in the past seventy years. Cognizant of the significance of their lives as rabbis' spouses, fifty-nine women (and one man) have documented their experiences for future generations. What a treat to hear their voices Their moving, funny, and insightful stories add vital texture to our understanding of the history of American Judaism since World War II, a time of major changes. The essays portray the many ways in which rabbis' spouses -- some of whom are proud to call themselves "rebbetzin" and others who totally reject the title (if not the role) -- have played a key function in furthering Jewish life. Their essays give us a rich appreciation of the significant role that Reform rabbis' wives played in the expansion of American Jewish synagogue life and the opportunities marriage to a rabbi provided for women who felt called to religious leadership in the era before they could become rabbis. Consciously or not, they have modeled female religious leadership for future generations of American Jewish women and thus paved the way for the talented women rabbis and communal leaders who enrich the Jewish world today. EXCERPT from Married to the Rabbi The news spread quickly. President Dwight Eisenhower mentioned it later in the morning at a largely Jewish political rally in New York. From then on, our telephone rang without pause. I couldn't leave it even long enough to get a cup of coffee. Then a call came that was unlike all the others. 'I'm one of them that bombed your church, ' the caller said, 'and I'm callin' to tell you there's a bomb under your house and it's lit and you've got five minutes to get out.' I believed the call was a hoax but couldn't risk being wrong. I called my husband who soon arrived with police and FBI agents. I found myself wondering who hated us enough to have set the bomb..." |