In this Book
- The Miriam Tradition: Teaching Embodied Torah
- Book
- 2010
- Published by: University of Illinois Press
summary
The Miriam Tradition works from the premise that religious values form in and through movement, with ritual and dance developing patterns for enacting those values. Cia Sautter considers the case of Sephardic Jewish women who, following in the tradition of Miriam the prophet, performed dance and music for Jewish celebrations and special occasions. She uses rabbinic and feminist understandings of the Torah to argue that these women, called tanyaderas, "taught" Jewish values by leading appropriate behavior for major life events.
Sautter considers the religious values that are in music and dance performed by tanyaderas and examines them in conjunction with written and visual records and evidence from dance and music traditions. Explaining the symbolic gestures and motions encoded in dances, Sautter shows how rituals display deeply held values that are best expressed through the body. The book argues that the activities of women in other religions might also be examined for their embodiment and display of important values, bringing forgotten groups of women back into the historical record as important community leaders
Table of Contents
Download Full Book
- Title Page
- p. 4
- Preface: Why Movement Matters
- pp. vii-x
- Acknowledgments
- pp. xi-15
- 1. Women and Sacred Power
- pp. 1-22
- 2. Movement Matters
- pp. 23-45
- 3. Miriam's Dance
- pp. 46-76
- 4. Miriam at the Wedding Celebration
- pp. 77-106
- 5. The Rachel Tradition: Dancing Death
- pp. 107-131
- Conclusion
- pp. 132-136
- Bibliography
- pp. 151-164
Additional Information
ISBN
9780252090271
Related ISBN(s)
9780252035777, 9780252077623
MARC Record
OCLC
841171368
Pages
184
Launched on MUSE
2014-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No
Copyright
2010