Finalist for the National Jewish Book AwardThe concepts of gender, love, and family—as well as the personal choices regarding gender-role construction, sexual and romantic liaisons, and family formation—have become more fluid under a society-wide softening of boundaries, hierarchies, and protocols.Sylvia Barack Fishman gathers the work of social historians and legal scholars who study transformations in the intimate realms of partnering and family construction among Jews. Following a substantive introduction, the volume casts a broad net. Chapters explore the current situation in both the United States and Israel, attending to what once were considered unconventional household arrangements—including extended singlehood, cohabitating couples, single Jewish mothers, and GLBTQ families—along with the legal ramifications and religious backlash. Together, these essays demonstrate how changes in the understanding of male and female roles and expectations over the past few decades have contributed to a social revolution with profound—and paradoxical—effects on partnering, marriage, and family formation. This diverse anthology—with chapters focusing on demography, ethnography, and legal texts—will interest scholars and students in Jewish studies, women’s and gender studies, Israel studies, and American Jewish history, sociology, and culture.

Explores the religious and historical meaning of being Jewish, how Judaism contributes to contemporary social-environmental issues, and the many ways Jews have interacted with, defended the identity of, and honored non-Jews from biblical times to contemporary Jewish-Christian interfaith dialogues.

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Product Description: Today's Jewish women, successfully availing themselves of the increased educational and occupational opportunities that feminism has encouraged, feel a new sense of self and entitlement. Yet as feminist advances have opened possibilities, they also have called into question traditional roles...read more

Product Description: Twenty-one writers document the diverse representations and roles of Jewish women in American literature and culture.

Product Description: The Jewish community in America is currently undergoing profound changes, and American Jews are experiencing personal and communal realities that differ markedly from those of their parents and grandparents. To meet the needs of this population, a complex human service delivery system has evolved, with a vast array of agencies and organizations providing health care, housing, nutrition programs, counseling, child care, Jewish education, and many other services...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)