Non­fic­tion

Tak­ing Back God: Amer­i­can Women Ris­ing Up for Reli­gious Equality

Leo­ra Tenenbaum
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By
Ellie Bar­barash
– January 3, 2012
Tak­ing Back God describes the expe­ri­ences of nine­ty-five Amer­i­can women, aged nine­teen to nine­ty-five, as they strive for advance­ment in five dif­fer­ent reli­gious tra­di­tions. Leo­ra Tanen­baum inter­viewed women from Catholic, Evan­gel­i­cal, and Main­line Protes­tant, Mus­lim, and Ortho­dox Jew­ish com­mu­ni­ties to reveal the com­mon threads in their strug­gles for women’s reli­gious inclu­sion, includ­ing Tanenbaum’s own expe­ri­ences work­ing for equal­i­ty with­in a life of com­mit­ted Ortho­dox Jew­ish obser­vance. 

Women’s voic­es come from the main­stream, and their beliefs and actions for change are based upon devot­ed study of orig­i­nal sacred texts. Across the board, they express sim­i­lar con­cerns: a desire for enhanced women’s lead­er­ship, women’s rep­re­sen­ta­tion in the lan­guage of litur­gy, and clear recog­ni­tion that the female body has also been made in the image of God. 

Tak­ing Back God describes the expe­ri­ences of nine­ty-five Amer­i­can women, aged nine­teen to nine­ty-five, as they strive for advance­ment in five dif­fer­ent reli­gious tra­di­tions. Leo­ra Tanen­baum inter­viewed women from Catholic, Evan­gel­i­cal, and Main­line Protes­tant, Mus­lim, and Ortho­dox Jew­ish com­mu­ni­ties to reveal the com­mon threads in their strug­gles for women’s reli­gious inclu­sion, includ­ing Tanenbaum’s own expe­ri­ences work­ing for equal­i­ty with­in a life of com­mit­ted Ortho­dox Jew­ish observance.
Ellie Bar­barash is a writer, musi­cian, and dis­abil­i­ty activist liv­ing in Philadel­phia. Her non-fic­tion has been pub­lished in Bridges. Ordained as a Kohenet, she is work­ing on pro­duc­ing an anthol­o­gy, Clear­ing the Spring, Sweet­en­ing the Waters: A Renewed Call to Torah.
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