Lily Montagu's Shekhinah (Judaism in Context)

Lily Montagu's Shekhinah provides a much needed corrective to the extant historiography that has served to marginalize, neglect, and even erase Lily Montagu's role as the founder of Liberal Judaism in England. Luke Devine s innovative re-reading of her oft-ignored novel, Naomi s Exodus, along with the introduction of little known archival material, generates a more accurate picture of Montagu, her biography, her activism, and most importantly, her theological discourse. Indeed, Devine s account reveals a Lily Montagu that will be unfamiliar to students and scholars alike: a Lily Montagu that is not a disciple of Claude Montefiore, but, rather, a woman with latent fiery temperament, deeply held spiritual convictions, along with the intellectual prowess to develop and articulate these theological reflections. Lily Montagu s Shekhinah maps the history of Liberal Judaism at the fin-de-siècle and the development of Montagu s proto-feminist aspirations, culminating in her theological discourse of gender completion, and elaboration on the feminine aspect of the divine presence, known to Jewish feminists as the Shekhinah.