Women As Ritual Experts: The Religious Lives of Elderly Jewish Women in Jerusalem (American Folklore Society, New Series)

By Susan Starr Sered

Book Overview

This ethnography explores the religious beliefs and rituals of a group of elderly Jewish women, originally from Kurdistan and Yemen, who now live in Jerusalem. Sered visited the women in their homes and accompanied them on trips to holy tombs, local ethnic synagogues, and Judaica classes. She finds that, though mainly illiterate and excluded from formal religious practices, the women are experts in rituals aimed at safeguarding the well-being of their extended families. By analyzing their rituals, daily experiences, life-stories, and non-verbal gestures, Sered uncovers the strategies these women have used to circumvent the patriarchal institutions of Judaism, and how they have developed their own "little tradition" within and parallel to the "great tradition" of Torah Judaism.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 019511146X
• ISBN13: 9780195111460
• Release Date: November 1996
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Invaluable read for women of any religion

You don't have to be a student of religious studies to enjoy this book. Though it's an anthropological study, it's highly readable & I found myself often continuing on ahead, further than what was assigned for the day. The elderly Jewish women of Sered's study are brought to life & I found them fascinating. The book concluded far too soon. Susan Starr Sered, in researching & writing about the religious lives of elderly Jewish women in Jerusalem, "hope[s] to challenge preconceptions about the very nature of such concepts as the sacred, the holy, and human spirituality" (3). By talking & listening to the illiterate, uneducated women in her study group, observing & interpreting their activities & gestures, Sered finds that 50% of Judaic practice & belief is developed outside of prescribed law & ritual. Women's Judaism is far different from men's, yet no less complex, meaningful, & vibrant. Through interpretation & innovation, women restructure paternalistic & androcentric religious beliefs & traditions. By creating living, useful, & meaningful spirituality appropriate to their own unique needs, these elderly Jewish women can provide inspiration for all women who too often feel alienated & excluded from male-dominated religious institutions.