Hagar - Story of Gender and Class - different views
Notes Torah Study 5/8 Rabbi Marder
Genesis 16 Hagar – Sari – a complex story of jealousy and class – seen for more modern commentators
Sari = princess – a barren princess who is feeling unworthy because she is “empty”
We discussed the views of modern commentators:
Erik Erickson – psychologist – Womanhood and the Innerspace
A sense of loneliness and fear.
Marc Gafni – The first Biblical expression of doubt. ULI – uncertain.
Professor J. Cheryl Exum – book: Fragmented Women: Feminist (Sub)versions of Biblical Narratives
An impatient matriarch who suffers as a result of intervention
The value of having a child is reflected in women in Biblical times and even forward in history.
In this case the power of having a child trumps class distinction
Katie Cannon – The Sarah Syndrome - ( Black Christian point of view )
Try to contol the spirit of God – not waiting for God’s will – turns this into a metaphor about managing other people’s lives.
Reflects a difference between Christian and Jewish views – Jews focus on taking more action in tikkun olam.
Naomi H. Rosenblatt Wrestling With Angels
“How could I have been too obtuse?”
Getting inside Sari’s psyche – watching evidence as Hagar is pregnant.
Liz Swados and Bill Moyers co-produced The Question of God -program – notes Sari’s ‘territorial possessiveness’ about jealousy and resentment.
Phyllis Trible: Texts of Terror: Literary-Feminist Readings of Biblical Narratives
Hagar is a symbol of the oppressed, faithful maid who is exploited.
Hagar is a powerful symbol – she is Egyptian, she lost her name, there is no dialog between Sari and Hagar, the situation breed violence.
Hagar’s escape to the wilderness, wells and angel intervention.
A change of vision - Hagar ‘s interaction with the angel. She sees the world differently.
There is a reorder in the relationship and her pregnancy and the interaction lowers barriers in status. But the angel addresses Hagar as the “servant of Sari”
Ruth Behar ( a Cuban) Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan – “Heelprints upon their Faces” The African American Hagar connection.
The African Americans view Hagar as a matriarch. The ex-slave, mother, a figure of strength.
Great article
Genesis 16 Hagar – Sari – a complex story of jealousy and class – seen for more modern commentators
Sari = princess – a barren princess who is feeling unworthy because she is “empty”
We discussed the views of modern commentators:
Erik Erickson – psychologist – Womanhood and the Innerspace
A sense of loneliness and fear.
Marc Gafni – The first Biblical expression of doubt. ULI – uncertain.
Professor J. Cheryl Exum – book: Fragmented Women: Feminist (Sub)versions of Biblical Narratives
An impatient matriarch who suffers as a result of intervention
The value of having a child is reflected in women in Biblical times and even forward in history.
In this case the power of having a child trumps class distinction
Katie Cannon – The Sarah Syndrome - ( Black Christian point of view )
Try to contol the spirit of God – not waiting for God’s will – turns this into a metaphor about managing other people’s lives.
Reflects a difference between Christian and Jewish views – Jews focus on taking more action in tikkun olam.
Naomi H. Rosenblatt Wrestling With Angels
“How could I have been too obtuse?”
Getting inside Sari’s psyche – watching evidence as Hagar is pregnant.
Liz Swados and Bill Moyers co-produced The Question of God -program – notes Sari’s ‘territorial possessiveness’ about jealousy and resentment.
Phyllis Trible: Texts of Terror: Literary-Feminist Readings of Biblical Narratives
Hagar is a symbol of the oppressed, faithful maid who is exploited.
Hagar is a powerful symbol – she is Egyptian, she lost her name, there is no dialog between Sari and Hagar, the situation breed violence.
Hagar’s escape to the wilderness, wells and angel intervention.
A change of vision - Hagar ‘s interaction with the angel. She sees the world differently.
There is a reorder in the relationship and her pregnancy and the interaction lowers barriers in status. But the angel addresses Hagar as the “servant of Sari”
Ruth Behar ( a Cuban) Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan – “Heelprints upon their Faces” The African American Hagar connection.
The African Americans view Hagar as a matriarch. The ex-slave, mother, a figure of strength.
Great article
posted by Chavarah @ 6:54 AM
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