A Bet-Midrash of Her Own: Women's Contribution to the Study and Knowledge of Torah

The feminist revolution in Jewish studies began over 25 years ago. One of the earlier signs of its effect was the establishment of the women's caucus that has now become a permanent feature in annual meetings of the American Association for Jewish Studies. Another testimony to its influence is an excellent anthology of articles published in the beginning of the 1990s entitled: Feminist Perspectives on Jewish Studies which seeks to take stock of the current impact of feminism in the field. By contrast, Israeli scholars to the extent they did at all relate to the topic have tended until recently to view the notion of a uniquely feminine contribution to Jewish studies rather disparagingly, as yet another symptom of the lack of rigor typifying Jewish scholarship beyond the confines of this country. But like most cultural phenomena of the Western world, this trend has eventually penetrated Israel as well and is now being given a big boost with the introduction of gender studies in various universities in Israel. The fruits of this development can be seen in the very convening of a special session devoted to 'Women and the Study of Judaism' in the conference upon which this book is based, as well as a day devoted to the topic of 'Knowledge and Creativity of Jewish Women', scheduled by the division