The Meneket Rivkah: A Manual of Wisdom and Piety for Jewish Women by Rivka Bat Meir

Translated by Frauke Von Rohden

The first-known Yiddish book to be written by a woman, Meneket Rivkah (Rivkah’s Nurse) reveals a great deal about 16th-century Jewish women’s lives and religious practices. It includes Rivkah bat Meir’s sermons, her interpretations of the Bible, and other religious instructions on various topics to guide women in their familial relationships.

First published posthumously in Prague, in 1609, Meneket Rivkah pre-dates the work of Glueckel of Hamelin and makes a new contribution to the fields of Yiddish literature and Jewish women’s literature. Von Rohden’s critical introduction and commentary serve to place the work within biblical and rabbinical literature, and within other Yiddish ethical works of Rivkah bat Meir’s time. This is the first book to include the original Yiddish text in English translation, as well as the original Yiddish manuscript of Rivkah bat Meir’s unpublished Simhes Toyre Lid. The book also includes the original Yiddish text of Meneket Rivkah.