America's Jewish Women

December 1, 2018
The distinct diaspora story of Jewish women in America.Nadell (Women's and Gender History, Jewish Studies/American Univ.; Women Who Would Be Rabbis, 1998, etc.) presents a sweeping history of American Jewish women beginning in the mid-17th century. Focusing on specific individuals and even specific families, the author presents a personalized story that is slanted toward progressive Jewish women and the legacy of Reform Judaism. Nadell follows a natural and predictable progression through the history of American immigration. The first American Jews were few in number and, despite opposition from some quarters, managed to live alongside their non-Jewish neighbors in relative harmony. The Revolutionary and Civil wars punctuate their family stories, and though Jewish women largely lived out domestic roles, they did manage to win certain new freedoms and places of influence in their communities. In the late 1800s, Jewish women took part in many of the era's social reform movements and laid the groundwork for important work that would be required with the coming wave of immigrants in the early 20th century. These new Jewish immigrants, mainly fleeing Russian pogroms, lived difficult lives in precarious economic times, but many managed to succeed even in the face of increased anti-Semitism. Throughout these years, Jewish women entered the ranks of political and social progressives. A final wave of immigrants, survivors of the Holocaust, added new complexity to the American Jewish community. In the postwar era Nadell explores the lives of such diverse Jewish women as Joyce Brothers, Betty Friedan, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, among many more less-famous individuals, whose roles in popular culture, politics, and social trends have been significant. The author largely succeeds in providing a fascinating portrait of American Jewish women, though her subject matter is definitely slanted toward Reform and even secular Jews. She offers little examination of Orthodox or even Conservative Jewish women's lives, especially in the modern era.A worthwhile history given the difficulties of capturing such a wide-ranging population.

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February 1, 2019

Jewish women in America have moved between assimilating and preserving traditions and creating new forms of American Judaism. While always on the margins of society, their lives and work have influenced or interacted with much of American culture. Nadell (women & gender history, American Univ.;$SPACE$Women Who Would Be Rabbis) tells of women who are emblematic of four waves of American Jewish women's history: the colonial era and early America, largely well-to-do women in the 19th century (including Confederate widows and slave owners), eastern European immigrant women, women in the labor movement, and feminists. The lives and concerns of wealthy 18th-century women such as Grace Nathan (grandmother of American author Emma Lazarus) or Abigail Franks stand in contrast to figures such as Bessie Abramowitz Hillman, a Russian immigrant who became a labor leader and educator. What emerges is a full portrait of the complexity and variety of women's lives, though with less focus paid to non-Ashkenazic communities and second-wave feminism. VERDICT Covering so many swaths of American history, this should be widely acknowledged as intriguing women's history and also the history of Judaism.--Margaret Heller, Loyola Univ. Chicago Libs.

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2019
In this unique survey, Nadell cites marvelously varied primary sources as she describes the lives of prosperous and poor Jewish women across America over the centuries. She covers traditional Jewish domestic practices in lively detail and chronicles how Jewish women supported their households by taking in boarders, practicing the needle arts, and managing shops, a line of inquiry that blossoms into portraits of such standouts as Ida Rosenthal of Maidenform fame and Barbie inventor Ruth Handler. More deeply inspiring is Nadell's tracking of how zealously Jewish American women pursued reform and justice as she profiles founders of life-saving benevolent societies, champions of the modernization of Judaism and educational innovations, and activists crucial to the labor, civil-, and women's-rights movements. From conventional Grace Nathan (1752-1831) to her radical great-granddaughter, poet and activist Emma Lazarus (1849-87), to Betty Friedan and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Jewish women have pushed back against anti-Semitism and sexism to better their lives, those of their families and communities, and American society at large. Nadell presents an invaluable, recalibrating look at American, women's, and Jewish history.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)