Beyond the Synagogue Gallery

“Goldman’s scholarly and well-researched book…[is] a pleasure to read…[she] focuses on how women found their place in American Judaism and the power they attained by their access to communal organizations. She is particularly eloquent on the reinvigorating effect of women upon dry and lifeless religious communities.”—Jewish Chronicle

“Karla Goldman’s scholarly and well-researched book Beyond the Synagogue Gallery…was such a pleasure to read that not only did I take prolific notes while reading it, I also found myself laughing aloud at some of the quirks of synagogue life revealed in her exploration of the role of women in American Jewry… Her study exposes every major transformation of the American synagogue as being bound up with major redefinitions of the place of women in public and private life. She demonstrates that the emergence of women as a dominant presence in public worship began to define both the synagogue and American Jewish public life.”—Rabbi Sylvia Rothschild, Jewish Chronicle

“An important component of this interesting and well-written study is the author’s decision to place this narrative within the larger context of the nineteenth-century American Jewish women, but because Goldman widely utilizes the plethora of excellent scholarship that describes and analyzes the gendered lives and activities of Protestant women and white middle-class society, she places her narrative within the larger context of American religious life in the nineteenth century.”—Carol K. Colburn, American Jewish History

“Most worshipers in American synagogues (outside the Orthodox) may not remember the absence of women in their sanctuaries, but this wasn’t always so… [Beyond the Synagogue Gallery] unfolds the history of the transformation in synagogue design and organization that shaped American Judaism.”—Jack Fischel, Indiana Jewish Post & Opinion

“A thorough survey of the innovations introduced into the American synagogue in the nineteenth century by the Reform movement, focusing on the Jewish woman’s gradual religious emancipation… An interesting and well-written study.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Weaving together anecdotes with choice quotes from letters and newspapers, Goldman presents a thorough yet accessible historical study of women’s growing participation in synagogue activities in the United States…[and] tells a triumphant story of Jewish women’s organizations in enabling women’s contributions.”—Library Journal