Reading Response

September 19, 2023

WGST 253

Dr. Hinderliter
In 1838, Rebecca Gratz established the first Jewish Sunday school. The school soon became

"one of the most important Jewish children's education innovations of the nineteenth century,"

providing Jewish students with the same opportunities their Christian peers had enjoyed for

decades (Marcus 135). Through this institution, Gratz used the precedent that it was a school

"created by women and staffed mostly by women" to challenge traditional gender roles and

contribute to a new style of American Judaism (Marcus 135).

As described in "Rebecca Gratz and America's First Jewish Sunday School", the Zane

Street Sunday School was a place where women were highly respected through their educational

and leadership roles. Gratz presented herself to the children as a "commanding figure" and held

positions throughout her school, such as the "superintendent, president, treasurer, and secretary"

(Marcus 137). In various sections, the author discusses how Gratz promoted women through the

school's ranks, giving them titles as teachers and handing leadership roles such as the presidency

to a female successor. This was a decision that went against familiar narratives that shaped

Jewish identity. During this period, Jewish women were often seen as "generally invisible or

dismissed" (Hyman 154). However, Gratz's team of educators showed the Jewish community

that women could play essential roles within the Jewish education system. Women were no

longer limited to the private sphere and could no longer be looked at "solely in terms of their

maternal role" (Hyman 157). Rebecca Gratz was also described as a "humanitarian" interested in

welfare and social work that was passed on to her school (Marcus 88). Public activism was an

essential part of the school's Constitution and demonstrated that the institution's women could

take on social and communal responsibilities. In their quest for a "charitable society," the women

challenged the preconceived notion that only "men serve in positions of Jewish communal

leadership" (Hyman 156). Miss Gratz and her school played a critical role in asserting the
legitimacy of women's participation in political activity through their role in social welfare work

(Hyman 157). In another manner, Gratz redefined gender roles by inviting women into the public

sphere and removing them from solely domestic duties. However, Rebecca Gratz and her school

sometimes upheld traditional gender norms within the Jewish community through her devoted

commitment to Jewish religious traditions.

A new American style of Judaism preached inclusivity that challenged traditional beliefs

and domestic piety that upheld them. The role of women within the school created an

environment in which "the HSS had a broadly inclusive understanding of Judaism" (Ashton 28).

Gratz made the school a place in which Jewish education was accessible to "all Jewish children

of the city," whether they were rich or poor (Ashton 28). Within the school, Gratz utilized

Hebrew and English primers, promoting inclusivity and offering a popular blend of American

culture and Jewish tradition (Marcus 138). The influence of domestic piety in Rebecca Gratz's

school and teachings was a critical part of "a new American style of Judaism" that also upheld

traditional gender roles during the time period. Similar to other Sunday schools, the HSS

functioned in a "systematic, public and authoritative way" that continued the tradition of stories

from Scripture being taught by "knowledgeable mothers" (Ashton 28). This structure of the

school coincided with American culture at the time, as women were expected to remain at home,

tend to the kids, and teach the Gospel. These beliefs were a pillar of American culture's

commitment to true womanhood throughout the 19th century, in which religion was feminized

and the values of domestic piety were instilled amongst its followers. Another aspect of this was

Gratz's consumption of male religious authorship, such as Alexander Pope's and Oliver

Goldsmith's poems (Marcus 98). This decision for the school and Gratz to study the "articulate

male elite" was critical in shaping society's belief about modern identities and how the two
genders should interact (Hymen 154). Through the school, Gratz instilled in her children a value

for religious text, such as verses from Isaac Watts and lines from Pyke's Catechism (Marcus

137). These religious texts show how traditional ideas about gender could be conveyed to

students and faculty and instilled the values of "domestic piety" into their students (Ashton 28).

The school took great pride in being deemed "true women" (Ashton 28).

In essence, while working to adapt to American culture, Gratz and her school upheld the

traditional gender roles that her very presence in the community worked to challenge. Through

the works of Ashton, Marcus, and Hymen, it is clear that Gratz played a critical role in bringing

women into a public sphere they were typically deprived of. She taught women that they could

fill leadership roles and bring value to the public sphere through charity, religion, and education.

However, her commitment to Judaism and her desire to adapt to American culture served as a

constraint. Her teachings preached inclusivity but also domesticity. Ultimately, Gratz still served

as a trailblazer who forged a new path for Jewish women. Nevertheless, she did it as a "true

woman" and died peacefully, knowing that she and her school stayed true to her womanhood and

her God (Marcus, 92).

 Works Cited

Dianne Ashton, “The Lessons of the Hebrew Sunday School,” in American Jewish Women’s

History, 26-42.

Paula E. Hyman, “Gender and the Shaping of Modern Jewish Identities,” Jewish Social Studies

8, no. 2/3 (2002): 153-161.

Rosa Mordecai on Rebecca Gratz and America’s First Jewish Sunday School, in Marcus, The

American Jewish Woman, 87-102 & 135-143.