A woman is responsible for everything : Jewish women in early modern Europe / Debra Kaplan and Elisheva Carlebach.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kaplan, Debra, author.

Carlebach, Elisheva, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jewish women--Europe--History.

Jewish women.

Communal living--Europe--History.

Communal living.

Communal living--Europe--Case studies.

Physical Description:

vi, 450 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Princeton ; Oxford : Princeton University Press, [2025]

Summary:

"A groundbreaking look at the integral role of women in early modern Jewish communal life. In small villages, bustling cities, and crowded ghettos across early modern Europe, Jewish women were increasingly active participants in the daily life of their communities, managing homes and professions, leading institutions and sororities, and crafting objects and texts of exquisite beauty. A WOMAN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING marshals a dazzling array of previously untapped archival sources to tell the stories of these woman for the first time. Debra Kaplan and Elisheva Carlebach focus their lens on the kehillah, a lively and thriving form of communal life that sustained European Jews for three centuries. They paint vibrant portraits of Jewish women of all walks of life, from those who wielded their wealth and influence in and out of their communities to the poorest maidservants and vagrants, from single and married women to the widowed and divorced. We follow them into their homes and learn about the possessions they valued and used, the books they read, and the writings they composed. Speaking to us in their own voices, these women real tremendous economic initiative in the rural marketplace and the princely court, and they express their profound spirituality in the home as well as the synagogue. Beautifully illustrated, A WOMAN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING lifts the veil of silence that has obscured the lives of these women for too long, contributing a new chapter to the history of Jewish women and a new understanding of the Jewish past."--Jacket flap.

Contents:

Introduction

Life in the Kehillah

Sacred societies: Women's Hevrot

Honor and shame, center and periphery

Jewish women and print culture

Ordinary and literary writing

Dynamic households

Economic agents

Material worlds

Last words

Bodies and souls

Custom and ritual

Conclusion

Acknowledgments

Glossary

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Illustration credits

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 403-433) and index.

ISBN:

9780691268613

0691268614

OCLC:

1535273018

Publisher Number:

90102695590