Biblical Women and Jewish Daily Life in the Middle Ages (Penn Press, June 2022)
In Biblical Women and Jewish Daily Life in the Middle Ages, Elisheva Baumgarten seeks a point of entry into the everyday existence of people who did not belong to the learned elite, and who therefore left no written records of their lives. She does so by turning to the Bible as it was read, reinterpreted, and seen by the Jews of medieval Ashkenaz. In the tellings, retellings, and illustrations of biblical stories, and especially of those centered around women, Baumgarten writes, we can find explanations and validations for the practices that structured birth, marriage, and death; women’s inclusion in the liturgy and synagogue; and the roles of women as community leaders, givers of charity, and keepers of the household.

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Maya Soifer Irish (June 8, 2022). New book by Elisheva Baumgarten. medievalJewishStudiesNow! Retrieved November 11, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/rhor