Overview

"Are You Not a Man of God? challenges the accepted readings of several iconic supporting characters from canonical stories of Jewish tradition. These characters have been appropriated throughout history to represent and reinforce central cultural values: the binding of Isaac and the religious value of sacrificing relationship for a higher purpose; the biblical Hannah, appropriated by the rabbis as an archetype of the spirit and practice of prayer; the Talmudic Beruriah and the significance of women's learning and knowledge; and the struggle for intellectual autonomy of the rabbis of the Talmudic story known by its tag-line, ""It is not in heaven!"" Tova Hartman and Charlie Buckholtz make use of religious, psychological, philosophical and literary perspectives to bring these characters to life in their multiple incarnations, examining their cultural impact and varied symbolic uses.These are texts that have been studied widely with characters that are known well. This study shows, however, that the dominant interpretations mask darker, more insightful, and ultimately more critical dimensions of these important figures. Hartman and Buckholtz discover muted voices of personal betrayal and criticism that resonate as damning social critiques of the rabbis themselves. These critiques often highlight the ways in which cultural authorities use, and abuse, their power; revealing the implications of these moral failings on their legitimacy as communal leaders. In these voices of social criticism, the rabbis evince an awareness of their own vulnerability to such abuses and failings as well as their hurtful, marginalizing effects on members of less powerful social groups."

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9780199337439

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Reviews

Their imaginative and critical approaches to a traditional and much-read text, are a welcome step in encouraging Jews of all stripes to engage with texts that hold values we wish to live by, and to find those values there. --Tablet Are You Not a Man of God? breaks new ground in our understanding of culture and social criticism. By showing how resistance to religious authority arises within a tradition, in part out of devotion to the tradition, Hartman and Buckholtz encourage us to listen to the 'supporting characters' in iconic stories and hear the voices of resistance that arise within their personal relationships to powerful authority figures. Love and relationships, rather than impediments to moral courage and clarity, are sources of deep cultural insight and moral strength. This book is also invaluable in demonstrating how to read and listen within a patriarchal tradition to the voices of mothers, wives, daughters, and sons. --Carol Gilligan, author of In a Different Voice and The Birth of Pleasure This is a work of psychological insight and cultural challenge. It is also a book of political justice and moral power. Through their original approaches to classical Jewish texts and the oft-marginalized voices of ancillary protagonists within them, Hartman and Buckholtz display the ways that these texts can guide our relationships and our institutions in an age where hierarchical structures too often lead to abuses of power. It is a rare achievement! --Rabbi David Ellenson, Chancellor, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion A work of erudition, insight and compassion, Are You Not a Man of God? glows with the Rabbinic passion for justice. --Rabbi David Wolpe, Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, author of Why Faith Matters

Are You Not a Man of God? breaks new ground in our understanding of culture and social criticism. By showing how resistance to religious authority arises within a tradition, in part out of devotion to the tradition, Hartman and Buckholtz encourage us to listen to the 'supporting characters' in iconic stories and hear the voices of resistance that arise within their personal relationships to powerful authority figures. Love and relationships, rather than impediments to moral courage and clarity, are sources of deep cultural insight and moral strength. This book is also invaluable in demonstrating how to read and listen within a patriarchal tradition to the voices of mothers, wives, daughters, and sons. --Carol Gilligan, author of In a Different Voice and The Birth of Pleasure This is a work of psychological insight and cultural challenge. It is also a book of political justice and moral power. Through their original approaches to classical Jewish texts and the oft-marginalized voices of ancillary protagonists within them, Hartman and Buckholtz display the ways that these texts can guide our relationships and our institutions in an age where hierarchical structures too often lead to abuses of power. It is a rare achievement! --Rabbi David Ellenson, Chancellor, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion A work of erudition, insight and compassion, Are You Not a Man of God? glows with the Rabbinic passion for justice. --Rabbi David Wolpe, Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, author of Why Faith Matters

Author Information

Tova Hartman is a professor of education, psychology, and gender at Ono Academic College. She is among the founders of Shirah Hadasha, an Orthodox feminist synagogue in Jerusalem, and more recently, Shma Koleinu, an institute for prayer Charlie Buckholtz is a rabbi and coauthor of several books. His writing has been featured in The Washington Post, The Daily Beast, and Tablet, and he blogs at http://badrabbi.tumblr.com/.

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