Voices of the Matriarchs: Listening to the Prayers of Early Modern Jewish Women

by Chava Weissler

Most studies of Judaism focus on sources produced by and for learned men - the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the Midrash, legal codes, and works of medieval philosophy, mysticism, and Hasidism. All these texts were written in Hebrew - a language seventeenth- through nineteenth-century Jewish women were not given the opportunity to learn. With Voices of the Matriarchs, Chava Weissler restores balance to our knowledge of Judaism by providing the first look at non-Hebrew Jewish source materials: the vernacular women's devotional prayers called tkhines. In Weissler's hands, these Yiddish prayers open a window into early modern Ashkenazic women's lives, beliefs, devotion, and relationships with God. In the last section of Voices of the Matriarchs Weissler looks at the changes the twentieth century wrought in the practice of writing and reciting tkhines.

Genres: Judaism, Jewish, Religion, Nonfiction, Judaica

269 pages, Hardcover

First published October 27, 1998

About the author

Chava E. Weissler was born in 1947 in Washington, D.C. She graduated with a B.A. in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies in 1967 and earned her Ph.D. in Folklore from the University of Pennsylvania in 1982. Since 1988, she has taught in the Department of Religion Studies at Lehigh University.

Since 1999, Weissler has been studying the "Jewish Renewal Movement," especially the organization called "ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal." This movement strives to infuse Judaism with spirituality and creativity.

Reviews

[Andy Oram]

The Yiddish devotional poems (tkhines) from the 16th century onward provide an interesting and sometimes beautiful view of an important side of Judaism, both regarding women's spirituality and regarding the influence of mysticism. Weissler describes these prayers, but goes far beyond that narrow topic to look at broad religious questions, such as the relationship of ritual to spirituality, the importance of everyday practices ("domestic religion"), and how women can express their intellectual and spiritual needs within a male-dominated culture. I even got a lot from the chapter on modern American reactions to tkhines.

Like some other readers, I found the author's attention to detail difficult at first. It's worth paying attention and reading alertly. Soon I got accustomed to her approach and found myself rolling along comfortably.

[Liz]

I had totally meant to finish this earlier, but then my class happened and then the 15 other things I needed to do happened and, all in all, I obviously finished it on Yom Kippur.

Super-interesting. I landed in the rationalist/soloveitchikian modern orthodox jewish world without any older observant relatives so my knowledge of tkhines is particularly small, but it was fascinating to listen to Weissler discuss these texts and, wonder of wonders, talk about their meaning for her as a jewish woman not just reading them but thinking about her own spirituality.

[Sara]

The book as a whole was informative and interesting, 3 stars. The last chapter where Weissler reflected on the work as a Jewish feminist took my breath away, 5 stars. I don't think I've ever read anything like it in a book of Jewish studies scholarship.

[Nora]

research books count for goodreads, right?

[Janet]

Interesting info. but pretty dull presentation.