Life on the Fringes: A Feminist Journey Towards Traditional Rabbinic Ordination

Part memoir, part commentary, Life on the Fringes charts a startling Jewish feminist journey both solitary and engaging. Haviva Ner-David draws us into the many facets of her life's story: a complex modern Orthodox childhood (including a battle with anorexia); adherence to a unique combination of Jewish observances; the emergence of her feminist commitments and support of gays and lesbians in Jewish life; a serious engagement with Jewish texts -- and now, studying for rabbinic ordination with an Orthodox rabbi in Israel, where Ner-David and her family have made their home.

Over time, we see Ner-David take on both traditionally male practices -- donning a tallit and tefillin every day, wearing tzitzit at all times -- as well as those of traditional Jewish women -- covering her head, and observing in great detail the laws of niddah which govern a woman's separation from her husband in the days surrounding her menstrual period. Her personal wrestling and her halakhic analysis help us see Jewish tradition in new, more textured ways -- and lets us see new possibilities for our own lives.

Writing with warmth, vision, and passion, Ner-David unwraps her often startling package of Jewish choices, inviting readers into her many worlds, even as she challenges us to examine and deepen our own allegiances and Jewish feminist journeys. No one who takes seriously the intersection of feminism and traditional Judaism will be able to ignore this book.

Customer Reviews:

Powerful writing, beautiful life

By Marcy L. Thompson - August 31, 2000

Haviva Ner-David is living a life which is entirely informed by her understanding of her spirituality. How inspiring this is, whenever someone is able to write a fluent, beautiful book which depicts such a shining achievement. But this book is even better, because her spiritual path is on the border between traditional Judaism and modernism. This precarious journey walks straight through the most important questions a Jewish woman can ask herself.This is a starkly honest book, which shows her struggles and her triumphs. The prose is clean and direct. The power of this book comes from the power of the author's heart: she writes with love of the life she is trying to lead, and of the conflicts she faces, within herself and with the world around her. This woman wrestles with herself, on the pages of this book. And she makes her world vivid enough that the reader can enter, can understand how she got where she is. Once I started reading, I could not stop until I... read more

Universal questions and a unique life...

By Jennifer M. Macleod "yiddishe supermama" - January 2, 2002

This is a book I could never before have read with an open mind. Fifteen years ago, I'd have dismissed Ner-David as an apologist for Orthodoxy, trying to cram modern sensibilities into a hopelessly outdated mold. Ten years ago, during my own tumultuous "return," I'd have sneered at her willingness to entertain thoughts of mixed seating, uncovered hair and egalitarian prayer.It's only now, I think, that I'm ready to hear the honest questions Ner-David and others like her are asking and to understand that the Judaism we share is resilient enough to answer to -- and thrive from -- challenge and diversity.Ner-David's narrative, interwoven with threads dealing with her own physical frailty, tells a story not of a senseless rebellion against Orthodoxy but of a young woman's awakening to a deeper, more genuine love of her tradition.I wish Ms Ner-David a Yasher Kocheich -- may she never stop asking.

powerful journey through spiritual struggles

By A Customer - March 17, 2000

For the beginner or the advanced scholar, this book offers a fresh and sometimes revolutionary viewpoint on the balance between tradition and modernity. While this book focuses on Jewish law and culture, also very relevant for anyone struggling with spirituality and modern life.