University professor and social activist Tova Hartman, discouraged by failed attempts to make her modern Orthodox synagogue in Jerusalem more inclusive of women, together with other worshippers, set about creating their own own, Shira Hadasha (a new song).Since it opened in 2002, this new synagogue's mission - to develop a religious community that embraces halakhah (Jewish law), tefillah (prayer), and feminism - has drawn thousands to services. The courageous act of creating the synagogue - against amazing odds - is testimony to Hartman's own deeply felt commitment to both feminism and modern Orthodox Judaism.The story of the creation and on-going development of similar partnership minyans in Jerusalem and elsewhere anchors and ties together this book's five essays, each of which explores a vital contact point between contemporary feminist thought and aspects of Jewish tradition. Hartman discusses three feminist analyses of Freudian psychology for reading Jewish texts; modesty and the religious male gaze; the backlash against feminism by traditional rabbis; the male imagery in liturgy; and Orthodox women and purity rituals. Throughout, Hartman emphasizes the importance of reint