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Distributed for Brandeis University Press

The Women Who Reconstructed American Jewish Education, 1910-1965

The conventional history of Jewish education in the United States focuses on the contributions of Samson Benderly and his male disciples. This volume tells a different story—the story of the women who either influenced or were influenced by Benderly or his closest friend, Mordecai Kaplan. Through ten portraits, the contributors illuminate the impact of these unheralded women who introduced American Jews to Hebraism and Zionism and laid the foundation for contemporary Jewish experiential education. Taken together, these ten portraits illuminate the important and hitherto unexamined contribution of women to the development of American Jewish education.

264 pages | 6 1/4 x 9 1/4 | © 2010

Jewish Studies


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Table of Contents

Foreword • Acknowledgments • Contributors • Introduction – Carol K. Ingall • Redefining Jewish Womanhood through Informal Education, Ethel Feineman and Grace Weiner – Miriam Heller Stern • Jessie Sampter and the Hadassah School of Zionism – Rebecca Boim Wolf • Rebecca Aaronson Brickner, Benderly Boy? – Shuly Rubin Schwartz • Libbie L. Braverman, A Woman for all Seasons – Alan D. Bennett • Mamie Gamoran, Modeling an American Jewish Life – Lisa D. Grant • Sadie Rose Weilerstein through the Looking Glass, K’tonton and the American Jewish Zeitgeist – Jonathan Krasner • “Three Cheers for Anna!”, Anna G. Sherman, Adult Jewish Educator – Carol K. Ingall • Temima Gezari, An Art Education Pioneer – Ofra Arieli Backenroth • Hava N’halela, Tzipora Jochsberger and Her Vision for the Hebrew Arts School – CArol K. Ingall • Sylvia C. Ettenberg, A Portrait in Practical Wisdom – Carol K. Ingall • Index

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