Book description
Recollections of the first bat mitzvah at the only synagogue in
Indonesia, a poignant bat mitzvah memory of World War II Italy, and an
American bat mitzvah shared with girls in a Ukrainian orphanage-these
are a few of the resonant testimonies about the transition from Jewish
girl to Jewish woman collected in Today I Am a Woman. Introduced by
brief biographical notes and descriptions of Jewish communities around
the world, these stories reveal how Judaism defines this important
rite of passage in a girl's life in widely disparate settings. The
contributions are from bat mitzvah girls of the past and present,
their parents, communities, and religious leaders. Including evocative
family photos-some recent, some from decades past-this rich
compilation is an ideal gift for bat mitzvah celebrants, their
families, and friends.
"Today I Am a Woman is filled with lyrical accounts of being
a bat mitzvah in such exotic places as Cochabamba, Bolivia, and
Tegucigalpa, Honduras.... All the vignettes are accompanied by a
well-researched history of the Jewish community in the area."
-Jewish Book Council
Barbara Vinick is affiliated with the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute
at Brandeis University, where she has studied gendered rituals in
Jewish communities worldwide.
Shulamit Reinharz is the Jacob S. Potofsky Professor of Sociology at
Brandeis University, where she is Director of the Hadassah-Brandeis
Institute. Her publications include American Jewish Women and the
Zionist Enterprise, Jewish Intermarriage around the World, and The
JGirls' Guide.
