NOVEMBER 17th

The Flight of Lilith:

Modern Jewish Feminist Literature

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

*6:00-7:30 PM*

With Professor:

Dr. Ann R. Shapiro

Distinguished Teaching Professor of English

Farmingdale State College

Editor-in-Chief, Jewish-American Women Writers

And respondents:

Dr. Irena Klepfisz

Professor of Women’s Studies, Barnard College

Poet, A Few Words in the Mother Tongue

Dr. Ellen Schiff

Professor Emerita, Mass. College of Liberal Arts

Theatre Scholar, Nine Contemporary Jewish Plays

The event will be held in the Private Dining Room (PDR)

at the Jewish Theological Seminary, 3080 Broadway, NYC (@ 122nd St).

RSVP to JFRG.JTS@gmail.com to receive a copy of the paper to be discussed.

Light Refreshments will be served.

Women and the Yiddish Press - 10.29.09

“Addressing the Ladies”:

A Panel on Women and the Yiddish Press

Thursday, October 29, 2009

5:00-6:30 PM

Dr. Rachel Rojanski

Associate Professor of Modern Jewish History, University of Haifa, Fellow Katz CAJS, UPENN

“Yiddish Journals for Women in Israel:Immigrant Press and Gender Construction (1948-1952)”

Shelby Shapiro

Ph.D. in American Studies, University of Maryland

"A Woman's Place: The Women's Sections in Three Yiddish Mass Circulation Daily Papers, 1914-1925."

Respondent:

Dr. Rebecca Kobrin

Assistant Professor of Jewish History, Columbia University

The event will be held in the Berman Board Room

at the Jewish Theological Seminary, 3080 Broadway, NYC.

Please RSVP to jfrg.jts@gmail.com and receive a copy of the papers to be discussed.

March 11, 2009 with the JFRG - Echoes of the Eve/Mary Dichotomy in the Zohar

The Jewish Feminist Research Group
(A Project of the Women's Studies Program at JTS)

PRESENTS:

Immaculate Sarah:
Echoes of the Eve/Mary Dichotomy in the Zohar

Dr. Sharon F. Koren
Assistant Professor of Medieval Jewish Culture at
the Hebrew Union College/ Jewish Institute of Religion

Dr. Eitan Fishbane
Assistant Professor of Jewish Thought at
the Jewish Theological Seminary

At the session, Eitan Fishbane will join Sharon Koren
in a discussion based upon her current research on women in the Zohar.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009
5:30-7:00 PM

The event will be held in the Berman Board Room
(2nd Floor near library) at the Jewish
Theological Seminary, 3080 Broadway, NYC.

RSVP to JFRG.JTS@gmail.com to reserve a seat and
receive a copy of the paper to be discussed.

Feb 12th Event!

The Jewish Feminist Research Group
(A Project of the Women's Studies Program at JTS)

PRESENTS:

"Real Bais Yaakov Girls:
The Creation of Girls' Culture in Orthodox Girls' High Schools"

Thursday, February 12, 2009

5:00-6:30 PM

Please Join:

Leslie Ginsparg
Ph.D. Candidate in Education and Jewish Studies, New York University

And respondents:

Dr. Melissa R. Klapper
Associate Professor of History, Rowan University
Author of Jewish Girls Coming of Age in America, 1860–1920

Dr. Carole Bell Ford
Professor Emerita of Education and Women's Studies, SUNY
Author of The Girls: Jewish Women of Brownsville, Brooklyn, 1940-1995

The session is based on the current doctoral research of Leslie Ginsparg.

The event will be held in the Berman Board Room (2nd Floor near library)
at the Jewish Theological Seminary, 3080 Broadway, NYC (@ 122nd St).

Light refreshments will be served.

Save the Dates for Fall 2008!

***Thursday, October 30th, 5:30- 7pm***

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD: THE BIBLE AS AN OPEN BOOK
(Rutgers University Press, 2008)
With author, Alicia Ostriker, and respondent, Jill Hammer (author of Sisters at Sinai: New Tales of Biblical Women)

For the Love of God is a provocative and inspiring re-interpretation of six essential Biblical texts: The Song of Songs, the Book of Ruth, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Jonah, and Job. In prose that is personal and probing, analytically acute and compellingly readable, Ostriker sees these writings as “counter-texts,” deviating from convention yet deepening and enriching the Bible, our images of God, and our own potential spiritual lives. Attempting to understand “some of the wildest, strangest, most splendid writing in Western tradition,” she shows how the Bible embraces sexuality and skepticism, boundary crossing and challenges to authority, how it illuminates the human psyche and mirrors our own violent times, and how it asks us to make difficult choices in the quest for justice.

***Thursday, November 13th, 5:30- 7pm***

"Tefillat Nashim: Jewish Women's Prayers"

With authors:
Aliza Lavie, Bar Ilan University, author of A Jewish Woman's Prayer Book
Rivka Haut and Adena Berkovitz, co-authors of "Shaarei Simcha" ("Gates of Joy"), a mini prayer book that was hailed as "the first modern liturgical work written and edited by women for use in the Orthodox community."

Editorial Review: A Jewish Woman’s Prayer Book is a beautiful and moving one-of-a-kind collection that draws from a variety of Jewish traditions, through the ages, to commemorate every occasion and every passage in the cycle of life, from the mundane to the extraordinary. This elegant, inspiring volume includes special prayers for the Sabbath and holidays and important dates of the Jewish year; prayers to mark celebratory milestones, such as bat mitzva, marriage, pregnancy, and childbirth; and prayers for comfort and understanding in times of tragedy and loss. Each prayer is presented in Hebrew and in an English translation, along with fascinating commentary on its origins and allusions. Culled from a wide range of sources, both geographically and historically, this collection testifies that women's prayers were—and continue to be—an inspired expression of personal supplication and desire.

Call for Papers
2008-2009

Are you doing research in Jewish women’s/gender studies?
Do you want a supportive place in which to receive constructive feedback about your work?
Would you benefit from discussing your work with other feminist/Jewish studies scholars?

The Jewish Feminist Research Group offers affiliated and independent scholars and graduate students a forum in which to present papers, research or works-in-progress that link feminist scholarship with Jewish studies. The group provides an ideal setting for the testing of material intended for publication or presentation in other academic arenas.

The format of each colloquium is as follows: Before each session, all subscribers to the group receive copies of the paper to be discussed. Each session begins with a brief presentation by the evening’s presenter followed by a critique from two respondents in the presenter’s field. The floor is then opened for further discussion. All sessions take place at The Jewish Theological Seminary.

The JFRG seeks your participation in the following ways:

1.) By presenting a paper or work of scholarship to the group.
2.) By responding to a paper.
3.) By publicizing our sessions to your students, colleagues and friends.
4.) By subscribing to the JFRG for $36 for the year, which guarantees the receipt of all the papers in advance of the sessions.
5.) By attending the sessions.

Those interested in presenting a paper should send a brief abstract (400-500 words) to: JFRG.JTS@gmail.com or to: The Jewish Theological Seminary, Women’s Studies Department Box # 131, 3080 Broadway, New York, NY 10027. Checks and donations can be written to the JFRG and mailed to the above JTS address.

For more information please email: JFRG.JTS@gmail.com

Past Event: May 1, 2008

Thursday, May 1, 2008 from 5:00 - 6:30 PM

"The World is not Ready for This":
Jewish Sororities and the Desegregation Question

NYU's Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies and
The Jewish Feminist Research Group of JTS
invite you to join a discussion with:

Shira Kohn
PhD Candidate, New York University

And Respondents:

Dr. Rebecca Kobrin
Assistant Professor of Jewish History, Columbia University

Dr. Diana Turk
Associate Professor, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and
Human Development, NYU, and author of Bound by a Mighty Vow: Sisterhood and Women's Fraternities, 1870-1920.

Light dinner will be served.

The event will be held in the Seminar Room
at the Jewish Theological Seminary, 3080 Broadway, NYC.

RSVP to JFRG.JTS@gmail.com.