A Feminist Commentary on the Babylonian Talmud

The Order of Moed in the Mishnah and Babylonian Talmud outlines the way Jews celebrate their festivals. It is well known among feminists that Jewish life is not the same for men and women, and that women experience Jewish festivals differently. The purpose of the feminist commentary on Seder Moed is to outline these differences, as they are reflected in the mishnaic and talmudic texts, which have become canonical for Jews and serve as a blueprint for the way they live their lives. In this introductory volume the questions of women's participation in Jewish festivals are handled on a more general and theoretic level than in the upcoming volumes which will be devoted to individual tractates. Various world-renown scholars discuss the role of women in the tractates of Seder Moed from a variety of aspects - legal, literary, theological and historical.Shaye J. D. Cohen: Are Women in the Covenant? - Charlotte E. Fonrobert: Gender Politics in the Rabbinic Neighborhood. Tractate Eruvin - Elizabeth S. Alexander: How Tefillin Became a Non -Timebound, Positive Commandment. The Yerushalmi and Bavli on mEruvin 10:1 - Catherine Hezser: Passover and Social Equality. Women, Slaves and Minors in Bavli Pesahim - Judtih Hauptman: From the Kitchen to the Dining-Room. Women and Ritual Activities in Tractate Pesahim - Tirzah Meacham ( leBeit Yoreh): Misconstrued Mitsvot. The Case of the Menstruant Levirate Wife - Shulamit Valler: Women and Dwelling in the Sukkah in the Bavli - Cynthia M. Baker: The Queen, the Apostate, and the Women Between. (Dis)Placement of Women in Tosefta Sukkah - Tamara Or: »Why don't We Say Anything to Them?« ( bBes 30a) Women in Massekhet Betsah - Dorothea M. Salzer: Women's World in Massekhet Rosh ha-Shana. Women and Creation in bRosh ha-Shana 10b-11b - Tal Ilan: Dance and Gender in Massekhet Ta'anit - Judith R. Baskin: Erotic Subversion. Undermining Female Agency in bMegillah 10b-17a - Klaus Herrmann: Massekhet Hagigah and Reform Judaism - Irina Wandrey: Mourning Rituals for Women and for Men - Adiel Schremer: For Whom is Marriage a Happiness? mMo'ed Qatan 1:7 and a Roman Parallel