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The Telling: The Story of a Group of Jewish Women Who Journey to Spirituality Through Community and Ceremony
Relates how a group of Jewish feminists came together to reclaim their religion by reinterpreting the Passover liturgy
216 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1993
2 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
E.M. Broner
12 books3 followersEsther M. Broner, best known as E.M. Broner, Ph.D., Professor Emerita was a Jewish American feminist author.
Broner was the author of ten books, including The Women's Haggadah; Weave of Women; The Telling: The Story of a Group of Jewish Women Who Journey to Spirituality through Community and Ceremony; and Mornings and Mourning: A Kaddish Journal. Broner had also written radio scripts for National Public Radio and plays. Her musical, “Higginson: An American Life,” premiered June 17, 2005, by the Michigan Opera Theatre (Broner, book & lyrics; Mort Zieve, music). Broner led the original Women's Seder for 30 years and was proclaimed a Wonder Woman by the Wonder Woman Foundation for her work in feminist Jewish ritual. She was married to the printmaker/painter Robert Broner, and they have four grown children.
Broner was the author of ten books, including The Women's Haggadah; Weave of Women; The Telling: The Story of a Group of Jewish Women Who Journey to Spirituality through Community and Ceremony; and Mornings and Mourning: A Kaddish Journal. Broner had also written radio scripts for National Public Radio and plays. Her musical, “Higginson: An American Life,” premiered June 17, 2005, by the Michigan Opera Theatre (Broner, book & lyrics; Mort Zieve, music). Broner led the original Women's Seder for 30 years and was proclaimed a Wonder Woman by the Wonder Woman Foundation for her work in feminist Jewish ritual. She was married to the printmaker/painter Robert Broner, and they have four grown children.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 7, 2014
For my class in Women and Judaism, I have to write a paper on an influential Jewish woman. For whatever reason, I determined that I would do my research on E. M. Broner. I probably now have the largest number of books by Broner in the Richmond area, maybe in all of Virginia. This is the second book, I have read by Broner.
This is fascinating. Broner and a woman named Naomi Nimrod wrote The Women's Haggadah and for 17 years a group of feminists used it for Passover. These events took place in New York City and some of the most famous women of the era participated. The women who came together each year included some of my heroines - Gloria Steinhem, Phyllis Chesler, Bella Abzug among them.
Broner wrote a book that can be used as a manual if someone wants to celebrate seder with other women. There are recipes, ceremonies and rituals. It is also a small piece of women's history and thank goodness it was not lost. As I read the book, I was blown away by the women who participated in these seders. It was a who's who for the second wave of feminism.
Although I knew of the women who participated in these seders, this book would have never entered my life without my class. I am grateful to have learned about this part of American feminism.
I highly recommend this book to Jewish women everywhere. They should know this part of women's history and they might want to try the Haggadah.
This is fascinating. Broner and a woman named Naomi Nimrod wrote The Women's Haggadah and for 17 years a group of feminists used it for Passover. These events took place in New York City and some of the most famous women of the era participated. The women who came together each year included some of my heroines - Gloria Steinhem, Phyllis Chesler, Bella Abzug among them.
Broner wrote a book that can be used as a manual if someone wants to celebrate seder with other women. There are recipes, ceremonies and rituals. It is also a small piece of women's history and thank goodness it was not lost. As I read the book, I was blown away by the women who participated in these seders. It was a who's who for the second wave of feminism.
Although I knew of the women who participated in these seders, this book would have never entered my life without my class. I am grateful to have learned about this part of American feminism.
I highly recommend this book to Jewish women everywhere. They should know this part of women's history and they might want to try the Haggadah.
April 30, 2019
This book took me a bit out of my comfort zone. It challenged me to think differently about aspects the Seder with which I’m very familiar, and that was refreshing.
On the other hand, some of Broner’s descriptions made her Seders seem like Passover-themed soirees rather than an age-old Jewish practice connected to God. Bronner’s Seders included revisions to the classic Seder texts aimed at giving women a seat at the table, but they also aimed to simply connect like-minded Feminist women and create kinship – and there’s nothing wrong with building a community of like-minded women – it’s just not quite what the Seder is traditionally about and felt a bit like forcing a square peg into a round hole. The Passover Hagadda is actually patchwork of texts that weren’t all written at the same time, and there’s always room for creative additions to the ceremony, but acts like having the Seder Sisters bind themselves together using the ‘sacred shmatta’ just seemed out of place to me , even though this seder was never observed instead of the traditional seders (but rather in addition to them).
And talking about out of place, for me, it was somewhat difficult to follow the narration. The story was not told in any kind of chronological or methodical way and seemed to skip around a lot; to repeat itself at times. Sometimes skipping around really works as a literary tool. This time it didn't. It was almost a stream-of-consciousness recounting of the annals of the Seder sisters.
So this book was but from a perfect read, but all in all it was interesting and delightful to get to know the accomplished, creative, intelligent and caring order of the ‘Seder Sisters’, even if their idea of a ‘Seder’ differs from mine.
On the other hand, some of Broner’s descriptions made her Seders seem like Passover-themed soirees rather than an age-old Jewish practice connected to God. Bronner’s Seders included revisions to the classic Seder texts aimed at giving women a seat at the table, but they also aimed to simply connect like-minded Feminist women and create kinship – and there’s nothing wrong with building a community of like-minded women – it’s just not quite what the Seder is traditionally about and felt a bit like forcing a square peg into a round hole. The Passover Hagadda is actually patchwork of texts that weren’t all written at the same time, and there’s always room for creative additions to the ceremony, but acts like having the Seder Sisters bind themselves together using the ‘sacred shmatta’ just seemed out of place to me , even though this seder was never observed instead of the traditional seders (but rather in addition to them).
And talking about out of place, for me, it was somewhat difficult to follow the narration. The story was not told in any kind of chronological or methodical way and seemed to skip around a lot; to repeat itself at times. Sometimes skipping around really works as a literary tool. This time it didn't. It was almost a stream-of-consciousness recounting of the annals of the Seder sisters.
So this book was but from a perfect read, but all in all it was interesting and delightful to get to know the accomplished, creative, intelligent and caring order of the ‘Seder Sisters’, even if their idea of a ‘Seder’ differs from mine.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews