By shifting attention from the image of Jews as a textual community to the ways Jews understand and manage their bodies - for example, to their concerns with reproduction and sexuality, menstruation and childbirth- this volume contributes to a revisioning of what Jews and Judaism are and have been. The project of re-membering the Jewish body has both historical and constructive motivations. As a constructive project, this book describes, renews, and participates in the complex and ongoing modern discussion about the nature of Jewish bodies and the place of bodies in Judaism.

About the Author
Howard Eilberg-Schwartz is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Stanford University. He is the author of The Savage in Judaism: An Anthology of Israelite Religion and Ancient Judaism (winner of a 1990 American Academy Award for Academic Excellence) as well as The Human Will in Judaism.

Reviews
"The greatest strength of the book is the issue it poses: the notion that Jews are not simply a people of the book but also a people of the body. This is a dimension of Jewish experience that has been sorely neglected and that the book puts on the agenda of Jewish studies through its consideration of a number of dimensions of the embodiedness of Jewish life." - Judith Plaskow, Manhattan College

"Eilberg-Schwartz has identified an overlooked area of inquiry and has gathered together a collection of essays that in the aggregate suggests the riches awaiting further inquiry. This is the kind of book which will be cited frequently as a turning point in the development of a crucial research agenda." - Martin S. Jaffee, University of Washington



Book Information
ISBN 9780791411704
Author Howard Eilberg-Schwartz
Format Paperback
Page Count 402
Imprint State University of New York Press
Publisher State University of New York Press
Weight(grams) 553g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 25mm