ABSTRACT
The introduction lays out the chronological and geographical settings of the four different case studies and establishes the common thread that brings these distinct explorations into a coherent analysis. It provides an overview of how feminist thought and gender and sexuality studies have shaped Jewish studies in the respective sub-fields integrated in this book. It explicates the main goal of the study which is to bring to life women's undermined voices by focusing primarily on visual and material culture rather than on biblical and rabbinic texts. This opening section provides the theoretical backdrop of the study, examining the meaning of agency, especially how it may complement, strengthen, or at times negate piety and conformity to religious customs and laws.
