People have do a lot of preparation and study, making the rituals are extremely meaningful. By crafting a Jewish response to an event otherwise perceived as secular, Jewish women find new relevance in their religion. What a new ritual lacks in tradition it makes up for in the promise for future generations. Even if a woman performs a ritual that her mother and grandmother never practiced, the fact that her daughter will do it is equally moving. As Rabbi Orenstein explains, it is a different trajectory, but part of the beauty is the change.
Rituals don t only go backwards but forwards as well.
Feminists have long bemoaned the absence of women in traditional Biblical interpretation, and only recently has the text been approached with an eye toward including women. As Rabbi Orenstein maintains, we are opening a whole new vista in Bible interpretation. By interweaving personal stories, contemporary customs and newly realized gender roles with the traditional texts, the writers find models for women that transcend historical limitation. Consistent with the tradition of Torah study, this volume proves, as Rabbi Orenstein describes, that this 4,000 plus year old tradition somehow has within it everything you need to honor your wholly unique life despite differences in economy and technology. And it is all there.