Jewish Feminism Collections
The Archives and Special Collections department of the Brandeis Library has a current focus on collecting material related to Jewish feminism, which has been a subject of great interest. A few of the rich collections related to Jewish feminism include:
Flyer promoting the Jewish feminist magazine Lilith.
This collection is composed of material documenting the operations of Lilith, a Jewish feminist periodical that began publication in 1976. Documents include original notebooks, correspondence, interviews, manuscripts, ephemera and a book collection, which shed light on the research and resources behind numerous Lilith articles on topics ranging from Passover Haggadahs and conversion to Judaism, to the Israeli feminist movement and women’s health.
The collection also contains manuscripts, typescripts and correspondence with Lilith writers and readers, including material from Jewish women worldwide who were interested in reporting on local news and culture for the magazine. Administrative files show the operations of Lilith and contain meeting minutes, mission statements, press releases and fan mail, among other material.
Logo of the now-defunct Women's Party founded by Freedman in 1977.
The Marcia Freedman papers consist of journals, speeches, lecture notes, correspondence, manuscripts, typescripts and research files created by Marcia Freedman (1938-), an American-Israeli activist and feminist. The collection also contains many articles about Freedman, including newspaper clippings as well as book reviews for her memoir "Exile in the Promised Land."
Of particular note are materials documenting her feminist roots, files relating to her election to the Knesset in Israel in 1973 and her founding of the now-defunct Women’s Party in Israel in 1977, as well as autobiographical writings throughout the collection. Material dates from the late 1960s to the 2010s. There is also some audiovisual material and born-digital mixed media files. Collection is predominantly in English, though there are also many newspaper clippings in Hebrew. Some European languages are also represented.
Notes of Aviva Cantor.
The Aviva Cantor papers consists of research materials, records relating to organizations and conferences, publication drafts, correspondence and recordings, all broadly related to the works of feminist activist Aviva Cantor (1940-), particularly those dealing with women’s roles and feminist issues within Judaism. The bulk of the collection pertains to Cantor’s research, including notes, clippings and collected scholarly articles, and to her own writing, including drafts of published materials, collected sources and notes, and publication correspondence and publicity. The materials range in date from the 1970s to the 1990s.
Flyer advertising a lecture by E.M. Broner.
The collection concerns the writings, rituals and correspondence of the Jewish feminist author Emily Broner (1927-2011), widely known as E.M. Broner. The component relating to the writings of Broner includes manuscripts and published books, articles, stories and poetry. It also includes criticism, reviews, and publicity of Broner’s work as well as her reviews of the work of other authors.
A second component relates to Broner’s rituals and includes sources of information used in the construction of her rituals and texts, photographs, recordings and artifacts related to the rituals, particularly the Women’s Seder and Women’s Haggadah.
A third important component includes the correspondence of Broner with her associates and family.
