Lifecycles, Vol. 2
Edited and with Introductions by Rabbi Debra Orenstein & Rabbi Jane Rachel Litman
Recent years have seen an explosion of
interest in spirituality and religious texts, as well as an
exciting expansion of women’s participation and
leadership in Jewish life. This unique three-volume
collaboration brings together women writers, rabbis, and
scholars to create the first comprehensive work on Jewish
lifecycle that fully includes women’s perspectives.
Lifecycles, V.
2 explores the impact that biblical texts have on our
lives—and the impact our lives have on those texts. It
delves into the human themes found both in the first five books
of the Bible, and in women’s lives today, themes of:
• Genesis—Our roots and beginnings, family and home
• Exodus—Transformations to freedom, holiness, and
Torah
• Leviticus—Food and sacrifice, health and the body,
sexuality, the power of words
• Numbers—Creating community in timesof transition
• Deuteronomy—Leadership, law, and revisioning the
future
With a rich diversity of voices, the
contributors show us how to understand the power of biblical
texts, and then how to use those texts to find our own
connections of self, spirit, and community.
Introductions by Orenstein and Litman
offer a broader context for the concepts explored in each
section, and an afterword provides further advice on
“Engaging with Torah,” including a section on how
to create a midrash. In a personal, insightful, and creative
style, Lifecycles, V. 2 opens opportunities for us to grow from the
intersection of the texts of our heritage and the lessons of
our lives.
“An extraordinary
collection...illuminates the Bible through the prism of the
experience of Jewish women.... A ‘must’ for all who
cherish serious Torah scholarship as it relates to the life
experience of contemporary Jewish women and men.”
—Dr. Rela
Mintz Geffen, professor of
sociology, Gratz College; editor, Celebration
and Renewal: Rites of Passage in Judaism
“A marvelous anthology of essays,
poetry, text interpretation, and challenging insights which
provides all readers, male and female alike, with a wealth of
material to fortify us on our own spiritual
journeys.”
—Norman
J. Cohen, Provost, Hebrew Union
College; author, Self, Struggle
& Change: Family Conflict Stories in Genesis
“An indispensable resource for all
people for whom the Hebrew Bible remains a privileged place to
meet the Living God.”
—Dr.
Rosemary Radford Ruether, Garrett
Theological Seminary
“Both the process and content are
extraordinary and transformative.... I did, and I imagine most
people will, emerge richer as a human being.”
—Rabbi
Arthur Waskow, Pathfinder of ALEPH:
Alliance for Jewish Renewal; author, Down-to-Earth Judaism and Godwrestling—Round 2
“This magnificent collection opens
the Torah to women’s experience and opens women’s
lives through the Torah.”
—Ann
Swidler, professor of sociology,
University of California at Berkeley; author, Talk of Love; co-author,
Habits of the Heart and Inequality
by Design
Rabbi Jane Rachel Litman serves Sha’ar
Zahav in San Francisco, a congregation of people of diverse
sexualities and family structures. She has taught on the
faculty of California State University Northridge, the
University of Judaism, and Loyola Marymount. She is active in
many social action organizations, and is widely published in
the fields of Jewish women’s history and contemporary
theology. She lives in Northern California with her partner,
Stewart Schwartz, and their two children, Sophie and Asher.
