Rebecca Gratz
Women and Judaism in Antebellum America
by Dianne Ashton
Review this book!
Available editions of Rebecca Gratz
|
9780814326664,
Hardcover,
Wayne State Univ Pr,
1997
Other copies of 9780814326664 |
||
Publisher Notes
This is the first in-depth biography of Rebecca Gratz (1781-1869), the foremost American Jewish woman of the nineteenth century. Perhaps the best known member of the prominent Gratz family of Philadelphia, she was a fervent patriot, a profoundly religious woman, and a widely known activist for poor women. She devoted her life to confronting and resolving the personal challenges she faced as a Jew and as a female member of a prosperous family. In using hundreds of Gratz's own letters in her research, Dianne Ashton reveals Gratz's own blend of Jewish and American values and explores the significance of her work. Informed by her American and Jewish ideas, values, and attitudes, Gratz created and managed a variety of municipal and Jewish institutions for charity and education, including America's first independent Jewish women's charitable society, the first Jewish Sunday school, and the first American Jewish foster home. Influenced by the religious and political transformations taking place nationally and locally, Gratz matured into a social visionary whose dreams for American Jewish life far surpassed the realities she saw around her. She believed that Judaism was advanced by the founding of the Female Hebrew Benevolent Society and the Hebrew Sunday School because they offered religious education to thousands of children and leadership opportunities to Jewish women. Gratz's organizations worked with an inclusive definition of Jewishness that encompassed all Philadelphia Jews at a time when differences in national origin, worship style, and religious philosophy divided them.
Review this book!Similar books
Used, Rare and Out-of-Print Books | UK Second Hand Books | Used book search | Books by subject | Books by author | Books by ISBN | Rare books | Textbooks | Sale on used books | Independent bookstores | Book forum | Sell used books | Affiliate program | About us | BiblioWorks | Privacy and security | Help & Faq | Terms of use | Contact us | Get involved! | Site Map
All rights in images of books or other publications included in Biblio.com are reserved by the original copyright owners.
Portions of book data copyright 1995-2010
Muze Inc. For personal non-commercial use only. All rights reserved. Some content for books is owned by Baker & Taylor, Inc. or its licensors and is subject to copyright and all other protections provided by applicable law.