Book contents
- Frontmatter
- 1 The archaeology of Palestine 63 bce–ce 70
- 2 The Herodian Temple
- 3 Recent archaeology in Palestine: achievements and future goals
- 4 The contribution of Jewish inscriptions to the study of Judaism
- 5 The social, economic and political history of Palestine 63 bce–ce 70
- 6 The Diaspora in the Roman period before ce 70
- 7 The Gentiles in Judaism 125 bce–ce 66
- 8 Gentiles as seen by Jews after ce 70
- 9 The synagogue
- 10 The Temple and the synagogue
- 11 The early liturgy of the synagogue
- 12 Women in the synagogue
- 13 The Pharisees
- 14 The Sadducees – their history and doctrines
- 15 The Essenes
- 16 The baptist sects
- 17 The troublemakers
- 18 The Samaritans and their sects
- 19 Galilean Judaism and Judaean Judaism
- 20 Jesus: from the Jewish point of view
- 21 Paul: from the Jewish point of view
- 22 Jewish Christianity
- 23 Apocalyptic: the disclosure of heavenly knowledge
- 24 The Qumran sectarian writings
- 25 The Dead Sea Scrolls and pre-Tannaitic Judaism
- 26 Prayer in the Qumran Texts
- 27 Philo of Alexandria
- 28 Josephus (ce 37–c. 100)
- 29 The rabbi in second-century Jewish society
- 30 The Hellenistic–Roman Diaspora ce 70–ce 235: the archaeological evidence
- 31 The legacy of Egypt in Judaism
- 32 Jewish elements in gnosticism and magic c.ce 70–c.ce 270
- Bibliographies
- Index
- References
12 - Women in the synagogue
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 March 2008
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- 1 The archaeology of Palestine 63 bce–ce 70
- 2 The Herodian Temple
- 3 Recent archaeology in Palestine: achievements and future goals
- 4 The contribution of Jewish inscriptions to the study of Judaism
- 5 The social, economic and political history of Palestine 63 bce–ce 70
- 6 The Diaspora in the Roman period before ce 70
- 7 The Gentiles in Judaism 125 bce–ce 66
- 8 Gentiles as seen by Jews after ce 70
- 9 The synagogue
- 10 The Temple and the synagogue
- 11 The early liturgy of the synagogue
- 12 Women in the synagogue
- 13 The Pharisees
- 14 The Sadducees – their history and doctrines
- 15 The Essenes
- 16 The baptist sects
- 17 The troublemakers
- 18 The Samaritans and their sects
- 19 Galilean Judaism and Judaean Judaism
- 20 Jesus: from the Jewish point of view
- 21 Paul: from the Jewish point of view
- 22 Jewish Christianity
- 23 Apocalyptic: the disclosure of heavenly knowledge
- 24 The Qumran sectarian writings
- 25 The Dead Sea Scrolls and pre-Tannaitic Judaism
- 26 Prayer in the Qumran Texts
- 27 Philo of Alexandria
- 28 Josephus (ce 37–c. 100)
- 29 The rabbi in second-century Jewish society
- 30 The Hellenistic–Roman Diaspora ce 70–ce 235: the archaeological evidence
- 31 The legacy of Egypt in Judaism
- 32 Jewish elements in gnosticism and magic c.ce 70–c.ce 270
- Bibliographies
- Index
- References
Summary
Women took part in synagogue services in the ancient world, and sometimes received official titles like ‘ruler of the synagogue’ or ‘elder’. So much is clear, and the situation in antiquity evidently contrasts with the less prominent position of women in the synagogue at some later periods; but interpretation is hampered by lack of detailed information on the ancient synagogue. Did women worship apart from men, perhaps, as in mediaeval and later times, in a special section of the building? Did women with official titles carry out the functions of the offices concerned, and thereby take part in the government of the synagogues?
Since the early nineteenth century these historical questions have been ardently debated against the background of women's emancipation and synagogue reform. Signs of the times were the opening of the partition between the men's hall and the women's hall of the mediaeval synagogue of Worms (1843), and the discontinuance of the use of a women's gallery by the Berlin ‘Genossenschaft für Reform im Judenthum’ (1845); and in the USA ‘family pews’ and female office-holders gradually became familiar during the nineteenth century in reformed congregations.
More recent writing again reflects the impetus of women's movements in Judaism and Christianity, but can also draw on intensified study of women in the ancient world. No more is attempted in what follows than to indicate and assess evidence bearing on the two linked questions of women's place in communal worship and women as office-holders. The broader issues implied but not explored below were ironically evoked in 1913 by an essayist who entitled her study ‘Woman's Place in the Synagogue’.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge History of Judaism , pp. 358 - 401Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1999
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