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A review by lizshayne
Fertility and Jewish Law: Feminist Perspectives on Orthodox Responsa Literature by Ronit Irshai
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
And to round out this weekend, I figured I should finish this book before everything it talks about becomes illegal in parts of America. (Am I a little doom and gloomy at the moment? Maybe. In my defense - *gestures wildly*)
Irshai is one of the clearest and most compelling voices I have encountered in the intersection of halakha and feminism and her understanding of both makes her critique of how the former takes the unstated biases of poskim into halakha as such is really good.
I keep wondering whether halakha needs a specifically feminist moment if only to counter the ways in which rabbis have failed to notice women's needs in the past or, like God and pronouns, the goal is to think not about balance, but at bringing all voices into the conversation and really really hearing them this time.
Irshai is one of the clearest and most compelling voices I have encountered in the intersection of halakha and feminism and her understanding of both makes her critique of how the former takes the unstated biases of poskim into halakha as such is really good.
I keep wondering whether halakha needs a specifically feminist moment if only to counter the ways in which rabbis have failed to notice women's needs in the past or, like God and pronouns, the goal is to think not about balance, but at bringing all voices into the conversation and really really hearing them this time.