Which Lilith?: Feminist Writers Re-Create the World's First Woman

Eve was not Adam's first wife. That honor belongs to Lilith, who was created as Adam's equal. When he tried to dominate her, she uttered God's secret name and flew away. Lilith is mentioned in the Talmud, elaborated on in the midrash and in the kabbalah, whispered about in stories, and passed down from mother to daughter. In this anthology, a vivid, provocative, and enlightening sampling of Jewish women's written responses to the Lilith myth are offered. The editors have provided the space for contemporary women to link themselves to a tradition and participate in a sacred activity, thereby infusing energy into Lilith and creating a new tradition.

Enid Dame is a poet, writer, and lecturer at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Lilly Rivlin, a seventh-generation Jerusalemite, is a writer and film-maker specializing in Jewish and international subjects.

Henny Wenkart is the editor of the Jewish Women's Literary Annual.