Why Aren't Jewish Women Circumcised?
Gender and Covenant in Judaism
Format:Hardback
Publisher:University of California Press
Published:26th Aug '05
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
Why aren't Jewish women circumcised? This improbable question, first advanced by anti-Jewish Christian polemicists, is the point of departure for this wide-ranging exploration of gender and Jewishness in Jewish thought. With a lively command of a wide range of Jewish sources - from the Bible and the Talmud to the legal and philosophical writings of the Middle Ages to Enlightenment thinkers and modern scholars - Shaye J. D. Cohen considers the varied responses to this provocative question and in the process provides the fullest cultural history of Jewish circumcision available.
"This book represents engaged scholarship at its very best. Cohen presents the vast range of texts at his command with brevity and wit. Elegantly written, this is a very stimulating book that is sure to provoke admiration, discussion, and controversy." - David Biale, author of Cultures of the Jews "A distinguished and wide-ranging work of scholarship. Cohen's definitive discussion of the covenant of circumcision enhances our understanding of Jewish identity formation, women's status in Judaism, Jewish-Christian polemic, and the impact of diverse cultural environments on the evolution of Jewish tradition." - Judith R. Baskin, author of Midrashic Women"
- Winner of National Jewish Book Award (Women's Studies) 2006
ISBN: 9780520212503
Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 25mm
Weight: 590g
334 pages