Kaddish: Women's Voices
More than 50 women writers contributed personal essays to this unique collection. It provides readers with considerable insight into the role of women in the contemporary Jewish community, framing their stories within the place of the Kaddish tradition of Jewish mourning. In essays written expressly for this volume, the authors bring to the table an array of cultural backgrounds, including the urban U.S. Northeast, India, and Israel. Because of the nature of the Kaddish tradition, each woman self-identifies as Jewish, but together the women range from Orthodox to Conservative to Reform and even nonpracticing. They have grieved for parents, children, and siblings. Many are comfortable with their roles as active participants in a traditionally male expression, and a few eschew taking that participatory role. In addition to providing a dynamic view of feminism and Judaism, the collection coheres as a community of women experienced in mourning as a human sensibility, opening the titular theme to others who may feel alone in their bereavement. --Francisca Goldsmith