''Siddur Nashim: A Sabbath Prayer Book for Women'' is a feminist
siddur
A siddur ( ''sīddūr'', ; plural siddurim ) is a Jewish prayer book containing a set order of daily prayers. The word comes from the Hebrew root , meaning 'order.'
Other terms for prayer books are ''tefillot'' () among Sephardi Jews, ''tef ...
written in 1976 by
Naomi Janowitz
Naomi or Naomie may refer to:
People and biblical figures
* Naomi (given name), a given name and a list of people with the name
* Naomi (biblical figure), Ruth's mother-in-law in the Old Testament Book of Ruth
* Naomi (Romanian singer) (born 1977 ...
and
Margaret Wenig
Margaret Moers Wenig (born 1957) is an American rabbi and writer.
Career
In 1976, she co-wrote with Naomi Janowitz ''Siddur Nashim'', the first Jewish prayer book to refer to God using female pronouns and imagery.
Wenig graduated from Brown Univ ...
of the
Brown University
Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
Women's Minyan. It is the first siddur to use female imagery (a biblical transgression) and pronouns to refer to God.
About
Written by Margaret Wenig and Naomi Janowitz while college students, members of the Brown University Women's Minyan, the siddur is entirely in English. It follows the general order of the
Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...
service, while adding original psalms and a prayer about
menstruation
Menstruation (also known as a period, among other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and Mucous membrane, mucosal tissue from the endometrium, inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. The menstrual cycle is characterized ...
. Because the siddur was considered controversial, it was never formally published on the decision of its authors, and copies are only available from Rabbi Wenig. Selections of the siddur have been printed as "Sabbath Prayers for Women" in
Carol P. Christ and
Judith Plaskow's 1979 book ''Womanspirit Rising: A Feminist Reader in Religion''.
References
{{Reflist
External links
“Blessed is She Who in the Beginning Gave Birth:” An Intellectual History of the Brown Women’s Minyan and the Student Pioneers of American Jewish Feminism Brown University Library
The John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library, nicknamed "the Rock", is the primary teaching and research library for the humanities, social sciences, and fine arts at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. It is one of five individual libraries whic ...
See also
*
Jewish feminism
Jewish feminism is a movement that seeks to make the religious, legal, and social status of Jewish women equal to that of Jewish men in Judaism. Feminist movements, with varying approaches and successes, have opened up within all major branch ...
*
Feminist theology
Feminist theology is a movement found in several religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Sikhism, Jainism, Neopaganism, Baháʼí Faith, Judaism, Islam, Christianity, and New Thought, to reconsider the traditions, practices, scri ...
1976 in Judaism
1976 non-fiction books
Brown University
Jewish feminism in the United States
Feminist books
Feminist theology
Jews and Judaism in Providence, Rhode Island
Reform Jewish feminism
Siddurim of Reform Judaism
Unpublished books