Esther M. Broner, best known as E.M. Broner, (, Masserman; July 8, 1927 – June 21, 2011) was a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

author.

Personal life

Broner attended

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

and received a bachelor's degree in sociology and a master's degree in creative writing. She received her PhD in religion at what is now the

Union Institute & University Union Institute & University (UI&U) is a private university in Cincinnati, Ohio. It specializes in limited residence and distance learning programs. The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and operates satellite campuses ...

. Broner returned to Wayne State to teach English and also taught at

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York. The college models its approach to education after the Supervision system, Oxford/Cambridge system of one-on-one student-faculty tutorials. Sara ...

. She was married to Robert Broner, a printmaker and painter, and they had four children together.

Career

In 1976, Broner's first women-only

Passover seder The Passover Seder (; he, סדר פסח , 'Passover order/arrangement'; yi, סדר ) is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew c ...

was held in her New York City apartment. It was led by her, with 13 women attending, including

Gloria Steinem Gloria Marie Steinem (; born March 25, 1934) is an American journalist and social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism Second-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity that began in ...

Letty Cottin Pogrebin Letty Cottin Pogrebin (born June 9, 1939) is an American author, journalist, lecturer, and social activist. She is a founding editor of ''Ms.'' magazine, the author of twelve books, and was an editorial consultant for the TV special '' Free to B ...

, and Phyllis Chesler. Broner and Naomi Nimrod created a women's haggadah for use at this seder. In the spring of 1976 Broner published this “Women’s Haggadah” in Ms. magazine, later publishing it as a book in 1994; this haggadah is meant to include women where only men had been mentioned in traditional haggadahs, and it features the Wise Women, the Four Daughters, the Women's Questions, the Women's Plagues, and a women-centric “

Dayenu Dayenu (Hebrew:) is a song that is part of the Jewish holiday of Passover. The word "dayenu" means approximately "it would have been enough", "it would have been sufficient", or "it would have sufficed" (''day'' in Hebrew is "enough", and ''-en ...

”. A Women's Seder has been held with the Women's Haggadah every year since 1976, and women-only seders are now held by some congregations as well. Broner led her Women's Seder for 30 years. Her papers are held at

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , pro ...

Works

* * "Body memories" and "Sitting Shiva for a lost love" in * * * Broner had also written radio scripts for

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

and plays. Her musical, “Higginson: An American Life,” premiered June 17, 2005, by the Michigan Opera Theatre (Broner, book & lyrics; Mort Zieve, music).

References

External links

E.M. Broner collection at Brandeis University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Broner, E. M. 1927 births 2011 deaths American feminist writers Jewish women writers Jewish feminists 20th-century American women writers Women religious writers Wayne State University alumni Union Institute & University alumni