"Jewish Women--Images of Ourselves:" A Family Life Education Program

Publication Date: June 1981

Publisher: Jewish Communal Service Association of North America

Author(s): Anne K. Effron; Caron T. Dale

Research Area: Culture and religion; Social conditions

Keywords: Social Work; Gender; Dialogue

Type: Report

Coverage: Connecticut United States

Abstract:

Two distinct and seemingly contradictory voices echo in the hearts and minds of many American Jewish women today: on one side, the voice of tradition which views the ideal Jewish woman as the good wife and mother and on the other side, the voice of feminism which urges women to fulfill their own destinies and not to obtain their satisfactions vicariously. The co-authors describe the formation of a Family Life Education Program, whose goal was to help women integrate the Jewish and feminist pulls within them. The authors state that as clinicians, they recognized that the best way to achieve that integration would be to deepen their awareness of their Jewish legacy and their feminist strivings. Following this, they would encourage them to play out the conflict by seeing what each of these value and belief systems can contribute to their lives today.

In Journal of Jewish Communal Service, v.57 no.4, Summer 1981.