Which Lilith?: Feminist Writers Re-Create the World's First Woman

by Enid Dame (Editor), Henry Wenkart, Lilly Rivlin

Jewish lore indicates that Eve was not Adam's first wife. Mentioned in the Talmud and elaborated on in the Midrash and Kabbalistic writings, Lilith is said to be Adam's first partner. While the figure of Lilith may be as old as Jewish culture itself, until recently her stories were told primarily by men and their depiction of Lilith was consistent: she was a witch, a temptress, a dangerous, evil woman. This anthology offers a vivid, provocative, and enlightening sampling of Jewish women's responses to the Lilith myth.

Genres: Religion, Feminism, Judaism, Jewish

440 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Enid Dame was an American poet, fiction writer, teacher, editor, and publisher. Dame's poems explored themes of urban life, Jewish history and identity, and political activism. She examined contemporary women's lives in persona poems that take on the voice of Eve, Lilith, or other woman from Jewish tradition. These poems often locate a kernel of feminist rebellion in familiar Biblical stories.

Reviews

[Shuli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this collection with a few big caveats. I felt like some of the works far out shined others and for such a large collection there was quite a bit of wasted space (did this book need to be such a brick when half of the pages were mostly blank?) Also, like, I understand fully that this was published in '98 but I really wish that, for a figure so far out on the margins like Lilith, that there would have been more of a critical eye towards diversity. The ashkenazi Jewish cisgender woman is well represented, but where are the experiences of disabled women, women of color or transgender women? Those voices I felt would have really enriched the the perspectives offered and also brought some extra depth.

*All of that being said* Haviva Ner-David's essay "Cooking a Kid in its Mother's Milk" was the first thing I read (I like to skip around in collected works) and I found it very well-written and insightful, and I found Shoshana T. Daniel's poems absolutely breathtaking (especially Ghazals for a Demon Daughter). Some other stand out contributors were Enid Dame, Gayle Brandeis and Helen Papell. I think this collection is worth a read but I would be really interested in reading something that pushed this a little further 20 years later--there's a very interesting essay called "You Take Lilith, I'll Take Eve" by Yiscah Rosenfeld that I think takes another step in Jewish women's collective relationship with Lilith that I definitely recommend if you're interested in the topic.

[Sara Goldenberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an old book, not written by people with any background in the subject matter.

[Lizz Goldstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good anthology of poetry, essays, and stories for and about Jewish women and the primordial feminist

[Shoshana Kerewsky]

Sonnet for a Jewish Woman [poem], If There Were Angels [short fiction], Ghazals from a Demon Daughter [poem] (Shoshana T. Daniel)