Bread and Fire: Jewish Women Find God in the Everyday

by Rivkah Slonim (Editor), Liz Rosenberg (Editor)

What does it mean to be a Jewish woman today? What does Jewish tradition offer to modern women who are looking for practical ways to bring spirituality and meaning to their lives and the lives of their loved ones? These questions and more are addressed in this book that examines the everyday lives of Jewish women and the struggles and aspirations and failings and triumphs of their spiritual endeavors. The women whose writings appear in this book span a wide range of ages, backgrounds, perspectives, and professions. In her own way, each one reveals God as an anchoring force in her life from the birthing room to the boardroom, cleaning in the kitchen or scrubbing up for surgery. In places as far apart as Jerusalem, Washington, DC, and southern India, these women help readers find the sacred within the apparently mundane. Bread and Fire contains moving teachings and honest reflections from more than 60 contributors, including Shoshana S. Cardin, Elizabeth Ehrlich, Ruchama King Feuerman, Susan Handelman, Francesca Lunzer-Kritz, Rachel Naomi Remen, Liz Rosenberg, Julie Salamon, Wendy Shalit, Sarah Shapiro, Esther Shkop, and Marian Stoltz-Loike.

Genres: Jewish

454 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 2008

Reviews

[Sylvia J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

My plan was to read this book and then pass it on to a dear friend, who I know would be interested. However, it now has so many post it notes in it that I guess I better keep it. Anything in there about Torah and study and observant life I ate up hungrily. However I did skim through the articles on motherhood since I was not blessed with children. It seems like childless women should have a place.

[Nessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

Read through some of this anthology over Pesach.

An excellent compendium of personal essays by Jewish women meditating on, connecting to, and grappling with their faith. Well-written and edited abd thoughtfully compiled, this is great for times you can’t commit to an entire book, but want something substantive and meaningful.

Highly recommend.

[Liz Rosenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A remarkable in-depth guide not only for Jewish women but for all women looking to enhance and increase the role of spirituality in their daily lives. The many essays in this anthology cover the personal, the family and the outside world-- some women write about creating communal gardens, a surgeon writes about how she trained herself to pray before surgery, a daughter tells how she stayed beside her dying father, while other essays are more abstract, dealing with women's roles in Judiasm, notiuons of loshen hora (gossip), raising a family, infertility, courtship, modesty, and so much more.

Editor Slonim provides brilliant overview to the role of women in Jewish life-- a far more liberated and liberating view of power and self-actualization than one might expect. This book covers many points of view, from the barely-practicing to what might be called the ulta-Orthodox. All find a meeting ground in the converging paths and the ways, large and small, in which various women have enriched their lives through spiritual practice. Many essays are worth reading and re-reading. Beautiful cover, too, I have given this as a gift more than once-- I think it the perfect bat-mitzvah gift or graduation present.

[Rivkah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an anthology of well-written essays by a variety of Jewish women across the spectrum of orthodox observance. I still haven't finished the entire book; I just pick it up and either choose a topic that I want to read about, or open it randomly to find another pearl of a piece.

Quite enjoyable; I plan to buy a copy for each of my sisters.