Proposal Title
The Contributions of Women-Driven Biblical Study in North American, Jewish Adult Education
Abstract
The aim of this narrative case study was to learn about the factors and conditions in Jewish education that address the perceived, widespread exclusion of the biographies of female characters from Jewish biblical scholarship. This study represented a renewed interest in the issue that coincides with the publication of The Torah: A Women’s Commentary (2008).
The study involved two groups that met separately in suburban Milwaukee, WI. The same facilitator has organized and mentored both groups since their inception. Each learning group uses The Torah: A Women’s Commentary (2008) for studying the Torah, the first five sacred books of the Hebrew Bible. The researcher collected data from both groups in the form of class observations, personal interviews with participants, as well as from the researcher’s own process notes. Classes were coded as groups w and f. The study consisted of eight members of group w and 11 members of group f. Analysis of the data resulted in the following findings: (1) Use of this women – centered commentary challenges longstanding methods of Jewish biblical narrative pedagogy because the textual interpretation that ensues is from the perspective of biblical women exclusively. (2) These women – driven educational settings provide new avenues for teaching the biblical narrative via the integration of the biblical heroines’ experiences into exegetical discussions. (3) Group members have become transmitters for an emerging Jewish feminist hermeneutic.
Keywords: Torah, feminist hermeneutic, biblical heroines, Jewish women’s commentary
Start Date
27-3-2019 9:00 AM
End Date
27-3-2019 9:50 AM
Room Number
U-Hall 3-087
Presentation Type
Paper
Disciplines
Biblical Studies | History of Religion | Jewish Studies | Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | Religious Education | Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion | Women's History | Women's Studies
The Contributions of Women-Driven Biblical Study in North American, Jewish Adult Education
The aim of this narrative case study was to learn about the factors and conditions in Jewish education that address the perceived, widespread exclusion of the biographies of female characters from Jewish biblical scholarship. This study represented a renewed interest in the issue that coincides with the publication of The Torah: A Women’s Commentary (2008).
The study involved two groups that met separately in suburban Milwaukee, WI. The same facilitator has organized and mentored both groups since their inception. Each learning group uses The Torah: A Women’s Commentary (2008) for studying the Torah, the first five sacred books of the Hebrew Bible. The researcher collected data from both groups in the form of class observations, personal interviews with participants, as well as from the researcher’s own process notes. Classes were coded as groups w and f. The study consisted of eight members of group w and 11 members of group f. Analysis of the data resulted in the following findings: (1) Use of this women – centered commentary challenges longstanding methods of Jewish biblical narrative pedagogy because the textual interpretation that ensues is from the perspective of biblical women exclusively. (2) These women – driven educational settings provide new avenues for teaching the biblical narrative via the integration of the biblical heroines’ experiences into exegetical discussions. (3) Group members have become transmitters for an emerging Jewish feminist hermeneutic.
Keywords: Torah, feminist hermeneutic, biblical heroines, Jewish women’s commentary
