Before reading this, I had heard it described as "radical." I think that adjective is too leading. While Adler is radical, she is not necessarily so in the ways you might expect. The book is 20 years old, and though some of its ideas have percolated downwards, they have not done so evenly.

What distinguishes Adler's work is the depth of her analysis. Many Jewish feminists focus on inequality in ritual life: the ability to learn Torah, to lead a service, to count in the minyan. Adler is interested in what lies beyond that--the fundamental sexism in our texts and traditions. What stories do they tell? Whose voices are heard? Who has constructed the halakha that governs the life we lead every day? The answer is men. And that leads to the second question: How are we to incorporate the voices and desires of women?

Adler focuses in depth on several areas: the construction of halakha, the liturgy, and sexuality. The work of engendering Judaism requires us to balance the needs of feminism and equality with respect for the power of tradition. This is particularly important in the discussion of liturgy. The power of performance, of ritual, of stating centuries old formulae are real. Some attempts to rewrite tradition have failed because people have refused to accept them. At the same time, we need to consider the language and imagery we use. How does it shape our view of the Divine to pray in ways that are so essentially masculine? What feminine language should we use, and when should it be gender neutral? Adler doesn't answer all these questions, but she pushes the reader to think about them.

The analysis of sexuality may be the most daring in the book, for here, she directly confronts Torah and Tanakh's view of women: alternately property or temptresses. Only in Song of Songs do women have equality or sexual agency. The sexuality codes of Leviticus, which seek to regulate the expression of sexuality, are primarily concerned with sexual ownership of women and their permitted relationships. Further, we are more willing to reinterpret some laws of sexuality than others--today, we treat rape as a violation of the person, not merely a taking of property to which one is not entitled, but there has been resistance to rewriting the rules surrounding homosexuality. (It's worth noting that since the writing of the book, Reform and Conservative Judaism have changed the way they approach homosexuality, but the core of the prohibition, and what it signifies, is often ducked.)

In her final chapter, she uses marriage as a test case of composing a new, egalitarian tradition for marriage--that of "brit ahuvim", the covenant of the beloved: a coalition of equals, to replace the acquisition based ritual of traditional Jewish marriage. While this will not appeal to all people for various reasons, it's a good way to illustrate her points.

The book isn't long, but it's densely packed, and took me some time to read through. Highly recommended for Jews across the religious spectrum. ( )

Thought-provoking. ( )