About the Book
Fully acknowledging that Judaism, as described in both the Bible and the Talmud, was patriarchal, Judith Hauptman demonstrates that the rabbis of the Talmud made significant changes in key areas of Jewish law in order to benefit women. Reading the texts with feminist sensibilities, recognizing that they were written by men and for men and that the
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments, A Note to the Reader, List of Abbreviations and Acronyms, Introduction, The Rabbinic Texts, The Plan of the Book, Notes, Sotah, Biblical Basis for Sotah and Problems, The Warning and the Seclusion, The Ordeal in Detail, Merit and Its Protection, The Paramour, Abolishing the Ordeal, Conclusions, Notes, Relations Between the Sexes, Men and Women Alone Together, Attitudes to Sexual Sin, Men's Perception of Women's Sexuality, Conclusions, Notes, Marriage, The Framework of Jewish Marriage, The Marriage Contract: From Bride-Price to Ketubah, The Betrothal: From Purchase to "Social Contract,", Consent to the Betrothal, Women's Initiation of Betrothal, Conclusions, Notes, Rape and Seduction, Rape and Seduction in the Torah, The Rabbinic Paradigm Shift: From Crime Against Father to Crime Against Daughter, From Fixed to Variable Fine, Men's Understanding of Women's Pain, Creation of a New Legal Category: The Bogeret, Sex with a Minor, Conclusions, Notes, Divorce, The Biblical Basis of Divorce Law and Grounds for Divorce, Standardization of the Get and Comparison with the Writ of Manumission, Recurrent Themes: The Vacillating Husband and Compatible Divorce, Annulment of Marriage, Forced Divorce, A Husband Who Claims That He Issued the Get Under Duress, The World of Divorce According to R. Meir, Conclusions, Notes, Procreation, Three Questions Arising from the Mishnah, The Tosefta's Approach: Women's Obligation to Procreate, The Bavli's Decision to Force Divorce at the Request of a Barren Wife, The Yerushalmi's Decision in Support of Childless Women, Conclusions, Addendum: The Desirability of Marriage and Children, Notes, Niddah, Niddah in the Torah, Self-Examination and Sexual Relations, R. Akiva's Intentional Leniencies, From Tannaitic Leniency to Amoraic Stringency: The Seven "White Days,", Behavior During the Week of Niddah, Niddah's Benefits to Men: Sexual Strategies for Giving Birth to Sons, Niddah as Didactic Construct, Immersion, Conclusions, Notes, Inheritance, Inheritance Law in the Bible, Dowry as a Share of a Woman's Father's Wealth, Gifts in Contemplation of Death, Disposition of a Mother's Estate, Conclusions, Notes, Testimony, Women's General Reliability, Allowing a Woman to Testify About a Man's Death, Women Testifying on Behalf of Women, The Social Status Argument for Women's Exclusion, A Second Rationale for Women's Exclusion, Other Cases in Which Women May Testify, The Scriptural Derivation of Women's Exclusion, Conclusions, Notes, Ritual, Women's Ritual Obligations: A Chronological View, From Exemption to Obligation, Women Discharging the Responsibilities of Men, Women's Voluntary Performance of Mitzvot from Which They Are Exempt, "Blessed Be God for Not Making Me a Woman,", Conclusions, Notes, Conclusion, Notes, Glossary, Bibliography, Index of Texts Discussed, General Index
About the Author :
Judith Hauptman is professor of Talmud at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (in New York).
