THE RABBI'S WIFE: The Rebbetzin in American Jewish Life

Schwartz writes this book as a scholar—she is a professor and dean at Jewish Theological Seminary—but also as a rebbetzin herself; for nearly 25 years, she was a rabbi's wife. (Her husband died in 2004.) Here, she examines the complex rebbetzin role in America over the past century, demonstrating how marriage to a rabbi could sometimes provide women with an accepted ministerial identity when they could not be openly ordained themselves. Schwartz rescues important but heretofore unstudied rebbetzins from historical obscurity and assesses their contributions as educators, organizers, charitable fund-raisers, writers and public speakers. Overall, this well-written book successfully uses the rebbetzin as a window into larger issues: the evolution of Judaism in America, the opening of new possibilities for women in the late 20th century and the changing mores of the institution of marriage. (Jan.)