Francine Klagsbrun,bornFrancine Liftonin 1931, is a writer and Jewish feminist activist.[1]She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree fromBrooklyn College,a Bachelor of Hebrew Literature from the Jewish Theological Seminary, and a master's degree in art history from the Institute of Fine Arts.[2]She editedThe First Ms. Reader(1973) andFree to Be... You and Me(1974).[2]Some of her books areToo Young to Die—Youth and Suicide(1976),Married People: Staying Together in the Age of Divorce(1985), andJewish Days: A Book of Jewish Life and Culture Around the Year(1996).[2]
There was a special commission appointed by the chancellor of theJewish Theological Seminary of Americato study the issue of ordaining women as rabbis, which met between 1977 and 1978, and consisted of 11 men and three women; the women were Francine Klagsbrun, Marian Siner Gordon, an attorney, and Rivkah Harris, anAssyriologist.[3]After years of discussion, the JTS faculty voted to ordain women as rabbis and as cantors in 1983.[4]
In 1988, at the First International Jewish Feminist Conference in Jerusalem, a group of women organized a prayer service at theWestern Walland selected Klagsbrun to carry theTorahat the head of the group, making her the first woman to carry a Torah to the Western Wall.[2]In 1989 she helped dedicate a Torah to theWomen of the Wall.[2]
She has served as chairwoman of the Board of Overseers of theJewish Theological Seminary Libraryand secretary of the board of trustees of the Jewish Museum and cochair of its exhibitions committee, as well as a member of the Publication Committee of theJewish Publication Society of America,the Professional Advisory Board of the Petschek National Jewish Family Center of theAmerican Jewish Committee,and the Artistic Advisory Committee of theNational Foundation for Jewish Culture.[2]
Bibliography
edit- Klagsbrun, Francine.
Story of Moses. London, New York, Franklin Watts Ltd. [1971]
- Klagsbrun, Francine.
Read about the sanitation man. Pictures by Allan Eitzen. New York, F. Watts, 1972.
- Klagsbrun, Francine.
Story of Moses. New York, F. Watts [1968]
- Klagsbrun, Francine.
Your health; nutrition, by Francine Klagsbrun and Samuel C. Klagsbrun. Illustrated by Howard Berelson. New York, F. Watts [1969]
- Klagsbrun, Francine.
Read about the parkman. Pictures by Pamela Baldwin-Ford. New York, Watts [1971]
- Klagsbrun, Francine.
Read about the librarian. Illustrated by Dan Nevins. New York, F. Watts [1970]
- Voices of wisdom: Jewish ideals & ethics for everyday living / [compiled by] Francine Klagsbrun.
Boston: D.R. Godine, 1990.
- Words of women / compiled and edited by Francine Klagsbrun.
Chicago: J. G. Ferguson Pub. Co.; New York: distributed by Doubleday, [1975]
- Klagsbrun, Francine.
Freedom now! The story of the abolitionists. Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1972
- United Press International.
Assassination: Robert F. Kennedy, 1925-1968, by the editors of United Press International and Cowles. Edited by Francine Klagsbrun and David C. Whitney. [New York] Cowles [1968]
- Klagsbrun, Francine.
Married people: staying together in the age of divorce / Francine Klagsbrun. Toronto; New York: Bantam Books, 1985.
- Klagsbrun, Francine.
Mixed feelings: love, hate, rivalry, and reconciliation among brothers and sisters / Francine Klagsbrun. New York: Bantam Books, 1992.
- Klagsbrun, Francine.
Psychiatry: what it is, what it does; a book for young people. Illustrated by Mel Fowler. New York, F. Watts [1969]
- Klagsbrun, Francine.
Read about the teacher. Illustrated by Pat Grant Porter. New York, Watts [1970]
- Klagsbrun, Francine.
Sigmund Freud. New York, F. Watts [1967]
- Voices of wisdom: Jewish ideals and ethics for everyday living / [compiled by] Francine Klagsbrun; illustrated by Mark Podwal.
New York: Pantheon Books, c1980
- Klagsbrun, Francine,
Lioness: Golda Meir and the nation of Israel / Francine Klagsbrun. New York: Schocken Books, [2017]
- Klagsbrun, Francine.
Too young to die: youth and suicide / Francine Klagsbrun. New York: Pocket Books, 1981.
- Klagsbrun, Francine.
Fourth Commandment: remember the Sabbath day / Francine Klagsbrun. New York: Harmony Books, c2002.
- Klagsbrun, Francine.
Jewish days: a book of Jewish life and culture around the year / Francine Klagsbrun; illustrated by Mark Podwal. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, c1996
- Klagsbrun, Francine.
Too young to die: youth and suicide / by Francine Klagsbrun. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1976.
- Klagsbrun, Francine.
First book of spices. Illustrated by Penelope Naylor. New York, F. Watts [1968]
Awards
edit- 2017:National Jewish Book Awardin the Jewish Book of the Year category forLioness: Golda Meir and the nation of Israel[5]
References
edit- ^"Francine Klagsbrun".My Jewish Learning.Retrieved2015-09-07.
- ^abcdefAnne Lapidus Lerner (2009-03-01)."Francine Klagsbrun | Jewish Women's Archive [biographical description]".Jwa.org.Retrieved2015-09-07.
- ^Francine Klagsbrun."Francine Klagsbrun | Jewish Women's Archive [autobiographical statement]".Jwa.org.Retrieved2015-09-07.
- ^Keller, Rosemary Skinner;Rosemary Radford Ruether;Marie Cantlon (2006).Encyclopedia of women and religion in North America, Volume 2.Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. p. 551.ISBN0-253-34687-8.
- ^"Past Winners".Jewish Book Council.Retrieved2020-01-20.