Jewish Mothers Tell Their Stories: Acts of Love and Courage

by Siegel; Rachel J

• ISBN13: 9780789010995
• ISBN10: 0789010992
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-05-10
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Winner of the Women in Psychology Jewish Caucus Award for 2000! Jewish Mothers Tell Their Stories: Acts of Love and Courage contains touching and personal essays written by contemporary Jewish mothers from different parts of the globe. Their stories reveal the choices that Jewish mothers make in our post-Holocaust, non-Jewish world--the many ways of being Jewish, the acts of loving, of preserving and celebrating Jewish traditions and spirituality, and of transmitting them to their children and families. The firsthand stories in this compelling book raises questions and provides you with insight into a variety of topics, including: The 'Jewish mother'stereotype and its impact on real Jewish mothers ethnic/historical connections between mothers and daughters moving acts of love, courage, and sacrifice in response to illness, war, or conflicting ideologies motherhood as a catalyst for personal evolutions of Jewish identity and values Orthodox to secular expressions of spirituality The impact of the 'Jewish motherhood imperative' positive experiences of conversion and interfaith families conveying Jewish history and tradition in a Christian world Jewish Mothers Tell Their Stories will draw you into an appreciation of the cultural, ethnic, and spiritual aspects of mothering. This remarkable collection explores the different meanings of today's concept of "Jewish mother" and "Jewish family."

Table of Contents

About the Editors	xi
Contributors	xiii
Introduction	1	(12)
Rachel Josefowitz Siegel
Ellen Cole
Susan Steinberg-Oren
SECTION I: TRADITIONS
From Generation to Generation	13	(6)
Alice Shalvi
How I Learned to Be a Jewish Mother	19	(6)
Michele Landsberg
Traditions	25	(12)
Chawwa Wijnberg
Janine Beulink
My Mother Is Greek	37	(8)
Annette B. Fromm
Mandelbrot, Rugelach, and a Family Quilt	45	(10)
Lois Young-Tulin
SECTION II: UNBINDING LOVE
Unbinding Love	55	(10)
Celia Gartenberg
How a Paper Clip Changed Our Lives	65	(10)
Shelley Peterman Schwarz
On Mourning for Soldier-Sons in Israel	75	(12)
Amia Lieblich
On My Son's Induction into the Israeli Armed Forces: A Feminist Mother's Prayer	87	(4)
Naomi Graetz
Jewish Mother and Son: The Feminist Version	91	(10)
Phyllis Chesler
If I Can't Tear the Toilet Paper, Why Can I Flush the Toilet?	101	(8)
Barbara Green
SECTION III: JEWISH VALUES
On the Other Hand	109	(10)
Sandra Butler
Old Clothes and Food from Afar	119	(4)
Michele Clark
My Journey Toward Jewish Identification	123	(12)
Linda Stone Fish
Am I a Jewish Mother?	135	(6)
Liz Cordonnier
Conversion: The Mother of Invention	141	(8)
Laurie Davis
A Wandering Mother	149	(14)
Jane Ariel
SECTION IV: JEWISH IDENTITY---DISCOVERED AND REDISCOVERED
Jewish Mother ``from Scratch''	163	(4)
Beatrice Steinberg
How Modern-Day Austria Made Me a Modern Jewish Mother	167	(12)
Karen Engel
Learning to Speak German	179	(12)
Pamela Cravez
Washing Down the Chalk	191	(4)
Gayle Brandeis
While My Sixteen-Year-Old Daughter Visits Auschwitz	195	(2)
Stephanie Palladino
A Long, Circular Journey	197	(8)
Ellen Narotzky Kennedy
SECTION V: SPIRITUALITY AND RELIGION
A Life in Code	205	(10)
Mira Morgenstern
You Will Teach Your Children Diligently	215	(2)
Marjorie Hoffman
Beresheet, in the Beginning	217	(4)
Rabbi Lenore Bohm
On Carving a Life	221	(6)
Susan Berrin
Integrating Feminism, Judaism, and Sirituality	227	(10)
Sharla Green Kibel
Seeking Serenity As a Single Jewish Mother	237	(6)
Paula J. Caplan
Oranges and Cinnamon	243	(8)
Marlena Thompson
SECTION VI: THE REAL WORLD
Dealing with the Real World: Our Children, Ourselves	251	(10)
Shulamit Reinharz
No More Family Secrets	261	(10)
Marcia Cohn Spiegel
If I'd Known How to Be a Jewish Mother, I Would Have Been One	271	(6)
Helen Gardner
Chopped Liver and Sour Grapes: Jewish but Not a Mother	277	(8)
Sharon L. Siegel
My Two Lives	285	(10)
Barbara D. Holender
Glossary	295