| Forsaken: The Menstruant in Medieval Jewish Mysticism Contributor(s): Koren, Sharon Faye (Author) |
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ISBN: 1584659823 ISBN-13: 9781584659822 Publisher: Brandeis University Press OUR PRICE: $34.65 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: October 2011 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Religion | Judaism - History - Religion | Sexuality & Gender Studies - History | Europe - Medieval |
| Dewey: 296.75 |
| LCCN: 2011017167 |
| Series: HBI Series on Jewish Women |
| Physical Information: 0.77" H x 6.34" W x 8.96" (0.94 lbs) 306 pages |
| Themes: - Sex & Gender - Feminine - Religious Orientation - Jewish - Chronological Period - Medieval (500-1453) |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: This book addresses a central question in the study of Jewish mysticism in the medieval and early modern periods: why are there no known female mystics in medieval Judaism, unlike contemporaneous movements in Christianity and Islam? Sharon Faye Koren demonstrates that the male rejection of female mystical aspirations is based in deeply rooted attitudes toward corporeality and ritual purity. In particular, medieval Jewish male mystics increasingly emphasized that the changing states of the female body between ritual purity and impurity disqualified women from the quest for mystical connection with God. Offering a provocative look at premodern rabbinical views of the female body and their ramifications for women's spiritual development, Koren compares Jewish views with medieval Christian and Muslim views of both female menstruation and the possibility of female mystical experience. |