All Her Sons

Politics and Gender in the Jewish Cult at Rachel’s Tomb of the Last Three Decades

Bibliographic Data

ID7165153
AuthorsDavid Rotman (0000-0003-1281-5074, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume26
Issue6
Pages680-699
Publication date2025-08-18
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolitical Theology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1462-317X • E-ISSN: 1743-1719
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/1462317x.2024.2336775
OpenAlexW4396706808
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited18

The following paper explores the evolution of the cult of Rachel the Matriarch and its main folktales from the 1990’s until the present day. Whilst folktales surrounding the Biblical matriarch date back to the Rabbinic era, from the mid-nineteenth century onwards a unique Jewish cult at Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem significantly intensified. These rites, which were mostly female-led, were analyzed in a series of previous studies, most of which traced their development from their inception up to the 1990s. Since the Oslo Accords, however, the rituals and rites along with the folktales have evolved in profound ways. My research demonstrates the degree to which the political sphere impacts modern day Israeli-Jewish folk traditions, including bringing about the establishment of new traditions. Specifically, I argue that the rites, in the past mostly female-led, due to the increasing political significance of the cult, have undergone an intense process of masculinization

Ancient history · Art · Cult · Judaism · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Theology · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Gender Studies · History · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Law · Mormonism, Religion, and History · Philosophy · Religious studies

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