Today I Am a Woman Recognized Nationally and Locally
Becoming Women by Eryn Loeb
...reading it curled up on my
couch on a cozy fall afternoon earlier this month, I found the book to be a
genuinely moving read... Read
the article
The Bookshelf by Rabbi Neil
Gillman
...The narratives may center
around the bat mitzvah itself, but in the process we learn about Jewish life in
widely different Jewish communities around the world, about what it means to
become an adult woman, and most important, about the power of a ritual that far
too many American Jewish families understand as simply an opportunity to have a
party. The photos scattered throughout are endearing. Read
the article
Jewish Women Become the Best They Can Be by Rosie Rosenzweig
...Perhaps the seminal inspiration, as
Vinick reports from an entry in Kaplan’s diary, was witnessing during a trip to
Italy in 1922, a young girl and her father ascend to the front the synagogue to
say a blessing recognizing the young woman’s ability to be part of the prayer
assembly... Read the article
Review by Carol Poll
...It
is heartening to read about how many Jews across the globe have a commitment to
retaining Jewish practices while at the same time ensuring that women are
included. One particularly fascinating
account was presented by Remy Ilona, who described Jewish life among the Igbo...in
Nigeria...Read
the article
Review by Etta King
...What
appeals to me most about this book is how the history, written by Vinick and
Reinharz, is mixed in with personal bat mitzvah stories written by girls and
adults so that I never get bored of reading too much of one or the other... As
I read it, I almost felt that I was sitting in a circle of women sharing the
exciting, challenging, terrifying, humbling and thrilling experience of their
coming-of-age...Read the
article
Bat Mitzvah-hopping the World
by Judy Bolton-Fasman
...So
my dear daughter, name a country anywhere in the world where Jews live, and
you’ll see that the bat mitzvah has always been an intrinsic part of Jewish
womanhood. Make sure to pick up “Today I Am A Woman.” (It’s on the coffee table
in the living room)... You’ll glimpse your sisters all over the world
celebrating adulthood as women and Jews. Read
the article
'Today
I Am a Woman' Traces Bat Mitzvah Tradition by Charles A. Radin
Shula Reinharz, the Jacob S.
Potofsky Professor of Sociology, positively glows when she talks about
her latest book, a just-published collection of bat mitzvah stories from around
the world that she edited with fellow sociologist, Dr. Barbara Vinick. No wonder. “Today I Am a
Woman” is, after all, an expression of the Hadassah-Brandeis
Institute founder’s mission in life – using research to push
egalitarianism inside and outside the Jewish world and spreading awareness of
the breadth, depth and continuing evolution of the international Jewish
community...Read the
article
JOFA Journal
Review by Roselyn Bell
If you ever needed evidence of how global the Jewish people are and how ritual is one of the ties that bid us, this anthology of first-person accounts of bat mitzvah observances around the world provides it movingly and in spades...Read the article on page 39 of the Journal
Kulanu Newsletter
Review by Blu Greenberg
...You will surely read this book, as I did, through laughter and tears and the sweep of emotions about your own Jewish identity, and the joy and pride and vulnerability of being a Jew...Read the article on page 13 of the Newsletter
Fresh Thinking: News from the HBI
Praise for Today I Am A Woman: Stories of Bat Mitzvah Around
the World
JOFA Journal
Review by Roselyn Bell
If you ever needed evidence of how global the Jewish people are and how ritual is one of the ties that bid us, this anthology of first-person accounts of bat mitzvah observances around the world provides it movingly and in spades...Read the article on page 39 of the Journal
Kulanu Newsletter
Review by Blu Greenberg
...You will surely read this book, as I did, through laughter and tears and the sweep of emotions about your own Jewish identity, and the joy and pride and vulnerability of being a Jew...Read the article on page 13 of the Newsletter
Fresh Thinking: News from the HBI
Praise for Today I Am A Woman: Stories of Bat Mitzvah Around
the World
The Fall 2012 newsletter of Kulanu, which supports isolated and
emerging Jewish communities around the globe, features a glowing review by Blu
Greenberg of Today I Am A Woman: Stories of
Bat Mitzvah Around the World, edited by HBI Director Shulamit Reinharz
and Barbara Vinick. Greenberg writes, "Every encounter touches the heart. [...]
The stories in this book testify to the variety of Jewish life and the miracle
of our survival in so many places despite our relatively small numbers. Yet, the
cumulative effect of the testimonies also points up the amazing capacity of
Judaism and Jews for self-renewal."