Selected Bibliography on American Jewish Women

Last Updated, December 2007

Historical Studies - United States:

Abrams, Jeanne E. Jewish Women Pioneering the Frontier Trail: A History in the American West. NY: New York University Press, 2006.

Antler, Joyce. The Journey Home: How Jewish Women Shaped Modern America. NY: Schocken Books, 1997.

Antler, Joyce, ed. Talking Back: Images of Jewish Women in American Popular Culture. Hanover, NH: Brandeis University Press, 1998.

Antler, Joyce. You Never Call! You Never Write! A History of the Jewish Mother. NY: Oxford University Press, 2007.

Ashton, Dianne. Rebecca Gratz: Women and Judaism in Antebellum America. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1996.

Baum, Charlotte, Paula Hyman, and Sonya Michel. The Jewish Woman in America. NY: Dial Press, 1976.

Diner, Hasia and Benderly, and Beryl Lieff. Her Works Praise Her: A History of Jewish Women in America from Colonial Times to the Present. NY: Basic Books, 2002.

Glenn, Susan. Daughters of the Shtetl: Life and Labor in the Immigrant Generation. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1990.

Goldman, Karla. Beyond the Synagogue Gallery: Finding a Place for Women in American Judaism. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2000.

Hyman, Paula E. Gender and Assimilation in Modern Jewish History: The Roles and Representations of Women. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1995.

Igra, Anna R. Wives without Husbands: Marriage, Desertion, and Welfare in New York, 1900-1935. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2007.

Kuzmack, Linda Gordon. Woman's Cause: The Jewish Woman's Movement in England and the United States, 1881-1933. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1990.

Marcus, Jacob R. The American Jewish Woman, 1654-1980. NY: Ktav Publishing, 1981.

Marcus, Jacob R. The American Jewish Woman: A Documentary History. NY: Ktav Publishing, 1981.

Nadell, Pamela. American Jewish Women's History: A Reader. NY: New York University Press, 2003.

Nadell, Pamela and Jonathan D. Sarna, eds. Women and American Judaism: Historical Perspectives. Hanover, NH: Brandeis University Press, 2001.

Nadell, Pamela. Women Who Would Be Rabbis: A History of Women's Ordination, 1889-1985. Boston: Beacon Press, 1998.

Orleck, Annelise. Common Sense and a Little Fire: Women and Working-Class Politics in the United States, 1900-1965. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1995.

Prell, Riv-Ellen. Fighting to Become Americans: Assimilation and the Trouble between Jewish Women and Jewish Men. Boston: Beacon Press, 1999.

Prell, Riv-Ellen, ed. Women Remaking American Judaism. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2007.

Reinharz, Shulamit and Mark A. Raider, eds. American Jewish Women and the Zionist Enterprise. Hanover, NH: Brandeis University Press, 2005.

Rogow, Faith. Gone to Another Meeting: The National Council of Jewish Women, 1893-1993. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1993.

Schloff, Linda Mack. And Prairie Dogs Weren't Kosher: Jewish Women in the Upper Midwest Since 1855. Minneapolis: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1995.

Schultz, Debra. Going South: Jewish Women in the Civil Rights Movement. NY: New York University Press, 2001.

Schwartz, Shuly Rubin. The Rabbi's Wife: The Rebbetzin in American Jewish Life. NY: New York University Press, 2006.

Schor, Esther H. Emma Lazarus. NY: Nextbook: Schocken, 2006.

Shargel, Baila Round. Female Leadership in the American Jewish Community: Bessie Gotsfeld and the Mizrachi Women's Organization of America. Landham, MD: University Press of America, 2007.

Simmons, Erica B. Hadassah and the Zionist Project. Landham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2006.

Weinberg, Sydney Stahl. The World of Our Mothers: The Lives of Jewish Immigrant Women. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1988.

Contemporary Approaches and Feminist Theologies

Adler, Rachel. Engendering Judaism: An Inclusive Theology and Ethics. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1998.

Greenberg, Blu. On Women and Judaism: A View From Tradition. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1981.

Heschel, Susannah, ed. On Being a Jewish Feminist: A Reader. NY: Schocken Books, 1983.

Plaskow, Judith. The Coming of Lilith: Essays on Feminism, Judaism, and Sexual Ethics, 1972-2003. Boston: Beacon Press, 2005.

Plaskow, Judith. Standing Again at Sinai: Judaism from a Feminist Perspective. NY: Harper & Row, 1990.

Reimer, Gail Twersky and Judith A. Kates, eds. Beginning Anew: A Woman's Companion to the High Holy Days. NY: Simon & Schuster, 1997.

Ruttenberg, Danya, ed. Yentl's Revenge: The Next Wave of Jewish Feminism. Seattle: Seal Press, 2001.

Memoirs/Autobiographies (United States)

Antin, Mary. The Promised Land: The Autobiography of a Russian Immigrant. Numerous editions, orig. 1912.

Calof, Rachel. Rachel Calof's Story: Jewish Homesteader on the Northern Plains. J. Sanford Rikoon, ed. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995.

Chernin, Kim. In My Mother's House. New Haven: Ticknor & Fields, 1983.

Cohen, Rose. Out of the Shadow: A Russian Jewish Girlhood on the Lower East Side. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1995.

Feld, Merle. A Spiritual Life: A Jewish Feminist Journey. Albany: SUNY Press, 1999.

Firestone, Tirzah. With Roots in Heaven. NY: Dutton, 1998.

Goldman, Emma. Living My Life. NY: Knopf, 1931.

Gornick, Vivian. Fierce Attachments: A Memoir. NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1987.

Kohut, Rebecca. My Portion (An Autobiography) . NY: T. Seltzer, 1925.

Lerner, Gerda. Fireweed: A Political Autobiography. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2002.

Ner-David, Haviva. Life on the Fringes: A Feminist Journey Toward Traditional Rabbinic Ordination. Needham, MA: JFL Books, 2000.

Roiphe, Anne Richardson. 1185 Park Avenue. NY: Free Press, 1999.

Simon, Kate. Bronx Primitive: Portraits in a Childhood. NY: Viking Press, 1982.

Spewack, Bella. Streets: A Memoir of the Lower East Side. NY: The Feminist Press, 1995.

Reference

Hyman, Paula and Deborah Dash Moore, eds. Jewish Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia. NY: Routledge, 1997.

Hyman, Paula and Dalia Ofer, eds. Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia (on CD-ROM). Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2006.

Guberman, Jayne K., editor. In Our Own Voices: A Guide to Conducting Life History Interviews with American Jewish Women. Brookline, MA: Jewish Women's Archive, 2005.

Umansky, Ellen. M. and Dianne Ashton, eds. Four Centuries of Jewish Women's Spirituality: A Sourcebook. Boston: Beacon Press, 1992.

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How to cite this page

Jewish Women's Archive. "Selected Bibliography on American Jewish Women." (Viewed on May 10, 2024) <http://jwa.org/discover/resources/books/bibliography>.