OPVL's

On Being a Jewish Feminist

On Being a Jewish Feminist is a collection of essays written by Jewish women published in 1983. The purpose of the book is to elaborate on the question of whether or not Judaism can include feminists, with the view of many women considered. The value of this source lies in that it presents many views of Judaism from Jewish feminists. However, the source is limited in that the essays only come from women with feminist ideals in mind, and therefore might have a bias in regard to certain aspects of Judaism. 

From Lilith to the Lilith Fair

(This turned out to be the account of a woman who followed Sarah McLachlan's Lilith Tour and wrote about it...)

Lilith Plan of Study and Research Evidence

Plan for study:

In order to evaluate the different ways in which Lilith is used as a symbol, I will explore the beliefs presented by orthodox Judaism and Jewish Feminism. To do this, I will use Susannah Heschel's On Being a Jewish Feminist to see the feminist viewpoint and __________  to see the orthodox viewpoint. I will then compare the reasons behind the views of Lilith and how each side uses their view to project Lilith as a different symbol. 

Sources acquired so far...=

On Being a Jewish Feminist, Susannah Heschel

From Lilith to the Lilith Fair, Buffy Childerhose (I don't know if this will be a pertinent source, but it's the only other book that had my topic in it...)

A: Rationale and Preliminary Research

 

The role of women in Judaism is hard to define. There are many differing opinions among women of the same faith, as well as opinions of multiple types of Judaism to acknowledge. Many disagreements have developed among Jews as to what the Bible or Talmud says about the role of an ideal Jewish woman. These disagreements are sometimes very specific, such as the different interpretations of a single literary figure, known as Lilith. Lilith is introduced in the Bible as a female demon, known for stealing babies and men. However, more recent revisionist history has depicted Lilith as a feminist symbol for equality between men and women. From these distinct points of view on this single characters, the question then arises: How do different interpretations of the Jewish literary figure Lilith serve to demonstrate opposing opinions about Jewish feminism?

 

The different interpretations of Lilith are important to research because focusing on a small disagreement between Jews on the topic of women’s rights may help to better understand larger conflicts, such as how to peacefully reconcile feminism with Judaism in general. Often, women are in conflict with their religious beliefs and their feminist ideals in Judaism. Thus, it is interesting and important to study something that may be a key point in fixing this problem on a larger scale.

 

In order to answer the question “How do different interpretations of the Jewish literary figure Lilith serve to demonstrate opposing opinions about Jewish feminism?” I will first define the two opposing views about Lilith in Judaism. The fist view examined will be the Orthodox view, which sees Lilith as a demon. The second will be the modern feminist view of Lilith as a symbol of sexual equality and feminine liberation. Next, I will investigate the ways in which these opposing depictions are used to demonstrate the beliefs of each group. (not yet completed)

IA: RQ and Plan of Investigation

How do different interpretations of the Jewish literary figure Lilith serve to demonstrate opposing opposing opinions of women in Judaism? (feminist judaism vs. traditional judaism)

1. Identify the two main ways which Lilith is portrayed: For orthodox as a symbol of feminist evil, and for feminists as a symbol of women's liberty and equality (ignoring the evil features like stealing babies)

2. How do these differences in portrayals serve as examples for each side?