Contact
Research Areas
Jewish Ritual and Liturgy; Feminist and Women’s Rituals; Ritual Theory; Christian Ritual and Liturgy
Education
Ph.D., Jewish Theological Seminary
M.S., Columbia University
B.A., Indiana University
Links
Curriculum Vitae (pdf)
Debra Reed Blank
Debra Reed Blank
Dr. Debra Reed Blank teaches and writes in the fields of Jewish liturgy, rabbinics, and ritual theory, and is a Visiting Scholar at Brandeis University’s Women’s Studies Research Center where she is writing a book about Jewish female-infant initiation. During the 2012 spring semester, she provided sabbatical coverage at the Tufts University Hillel. From 1998 – 2009, she was the Rabbi Philip Alstat Assistant Professor of Liturgy at the Jewish Theological Seminary (New York City). She has also taught at Hebrew College (Boston), the Academy for Jewish Religion (New York), and the Russian State University for the Humanities (Moscow). Her edited volume, The Experience of Jewish Liturgy, was published in 2011. She is the author of many articles on Jewish liturgy and teaches frequently in adult-education venues. She received her PhD and ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary; she also has an MA from Columbia University and a BA from Indiana University.
Current Projects
I am writing a book about contemporary US Jewish baby-girl initiation, showing how feminist ritual sometimes develops in conscious imitation of male ritual. My historical, textual, and theoretical study will show how feminism has changed Judaism, how Judaism has forced compromise upon feminist principles, and how feminist portrayals of women’s rituals need to be re-evaluated.
Representative Publications
Blank, Debra Reed, ed. The Experience of Jewish Liturgy. Netherlands: Brill, 2011.