Many, many years ago when I was first "initiated" into the rich literature of feminist spirituality, I remember thinking that it cannot be a coincidence that so many of the most influential and inspiring authors re-visioning the Goddess and creating new approaches to the Sacred Feminine have Jewish roots. Starhawk, for example, has always integrated her own version of Judaism into her visionary "Reclaiming" tradition. Judith Plaskow and Riane Eisler are drawing from the faith they grew up with for their visions of a spiritual-feminist future. Novelists Marge Piercy (Woman on the Edge of Time) and E. M. Broner (A Weave of Women) have Jewish roots, too. Now Heather Mendel’s Dancing in the Footsteps of Eve gives the answers to this question — and a gripping, deep and, at least for me, new vision of a Judaism whose mysticism has led and continues to lead to an awakening in consciousness – for women and for men.

Through myth and an exploration of mystical Kabbalah and its four worlds — Intuition, Intellect, Emotion and Action — the author takes us on a journey to the Sacred Feminine and an evolving image of divinity that brings healing in times of fundamentalism or forgetting.

The preface "Roots and Wings" brings us into contact with the author’s own story — she grew up in South Africa — full of strong women who lived with great courage and fortitude within a patriarchal religious framework. Growing up with Reform Judaism paved the way for a critical and mystical odyssey that led her to ask the central questions: "How does belief in a monolithic male God affect women and men? Where in Judaism was the Great Goddess? Who was Eve and what is her legacy?" Questions of how we as human beings shape our images of God, how we project our values onto divinity, of a profound egalitarian longing and of great social change lead the reader through the book. Her aim, Mendel makes clear, is to leave behind the patriarchal interpretation of Judaism, but not its spiritual essence.

In the first part, "Intuition – The Sacred Feminine Revealed," the author discusses how feeling the sacred feminine creates self-worth. This chapter also provides a reflection on the desires, motivations and effects of feminist scholarship during the last decades. In the second chapter, the author asserts that the growth of the "either/or" world of logic led to a process of hiding the sacred feminine from view. Now, she proclaims, it is our task to dance in Eve’s footsteps and, by our questioning, re-visioning and re-discovering become the Eves of modernity.

To reach the mystical core of Judaism, we are introduced to the Torah, its ambiguities and different layers of meaning. Mendel asks us to question the Bible and the standard interpretations so that our curiosity for knowledge — Eve’s gift — can lead to new ways of living spiritually.

In the third chapter, "Feeling – The Sacred Feminine Revisited," the author guides us to Jewish goddesses. I would have liked to know more and be guided even deeper into the stories of Shechinah and Hochmah (Wisdom). Similarly, Eve herself remains shadowy, as well as Lilith (Adam’s legendary "first wife" who was later considered a demoness), Ashera (long considered Yahweh’s consort) and Sophia.

Finally, in the fourth chapter "Action — The Sacred Feminine Restored," the Sacred Feminine is re-imagined by women and men on a path that honors the mystical side of our experiences and strives for a balance between feminine and masculine. Readers are guided towards a practical exploration of Kabbalah, and the integration of the spiritual in everyday life.

The Appendix comprises two wonderful "Midrashim" — stories that flow from the process of filling the gaps in the scriptural text — which play a highly significant role in a re-visioning of feminist spirituality in a Jewish context. The story "Eve-olution: the birth of humankind" especially spoke to me, because we as spiritual feminists need the inspiration to remain curious and brave enough to step forward and reach for what we need. But this time, we must be ready and responsible to taste the fruit growing on the branches of the Tree of Life. With the courage to take what the Tree offers, we awaken to the possibility of recreating Eden: a place of connection with all beings as we learn to celebrate our diversity and sanctify life.

Heather Mendel's dance is an archaeology of hope, a vision of feminist values, of egalitarian life and of the interconnections between all beings and with the Earth. It is a re-memory of the Sacred Feminine in Jewish tradition, of an inclusive Divinity, one that is always coming into being. Heather Mendel interprets and celebrates the Sacred Feminine honoring both our individual uniqueness and spectacular diversity. Although written over many years, Dancing in the Footsteps of Eve is a prescient meditation on our Oneness, as its publication coincides with the inauguration of President Barack Obama and the spirit of Oneness and community that has, at least at this moment, enveloped the world in a fusion of hope.

Bettina Aptheker, Professor, Feminist Studies/Jewish Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz and author of Intimate Politics: How I Grew Up Red, Fought for Free Speech and Became A Feminist Rebel

In this engaging, wide-ranging work, Heather Mendel draws on an astonishing number of sources in her effort to reconcile her deep-rooted Judaism with her vision of a post-patriarchal world in which her feminist convictions flourish. The result is an entrancing vision of an enlarged and revitalized tradition that honors the past in a creative engagement with the challenges of a contemporary world. In the best traditions of Judaism, the author seeks to rescue the holy from the limiting definitions in which we forever attempt to ensnare it. In the process, she offers us a God who does not need defending, a feminism that does not need to be rooted in anger and frustration in order to be vital, and a possible spiritual discipline that daily deepens our appreciation of the world and strengthens our resolve to serve it.

Rev. Beverly Bumbaugh, Minister Emerita, the Unitarian Church in Summit, NJ
Rev. David Bumbaugh, Minister Emeritus, The Unitarian Church in Summit, NJ, Professor of Ministry, Meadville Lombard,and author of The Education of God and Unitarian Universalism: A Narrative History

Dancing In The Footsteps of Eve is a highly original book, an ambitious and creative undertaking. Heather Mendel's scholarship and knowledge of religious writings combine with her deeply felt reflections and enlightened consciousness to illuminate a remarkable personal journey by a woman steeped in Jewish tradition in search of the divine feminine.

Riane Eisler, author of The Chalice and The Blade, Sacred Pleasure, and The Real Wealth of Nations

At this time in the evolution of the human family, Dancing in the Footsteps of Eve is a welcome teaching. It recalls the integrity of feminine wisdom and the innate knowledge that power with is always more effective than power over. This book is a needed reminder of both the revealed and concealed power of the divine feminine.

Beverly Engel, author of The Nice Girl Syndrome: Stop Being Manipulated and Abused--and Start Standing Up for Yourself

Wisdom in every culture is deemed to be feminine. The Book of Proverbs says it best. Surprise! Surprise! Wisdom is full of delight! Mendel proves this by making even her scholarly research a treat to read. She restores the role of the feminine in an earthy, practical way while at the same time honoring the masculine and intellectual genius of traditional Judaism. In this book the Tree of Life blossoms with joy.

Alice O. Howell, author of The Dove In The Stone: Finding the Sacred in the Commonplace

Autobiography, history, theology, midrash, kabbalah and, of course, feminism all seamlessly woven together into a wise and wonderful literary adventure. From ancient tradition to New Age, Heather Mendel sets a banquet table for the 21st century spiritual seeker. This is a beautiful book.

Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, the Emanu-El Scholar at Congregation Emanu-El of San Francisco, author of the novel,Kabbalah: A Love Story , and sixteen books on Judaism, Kabbalah, and spirituality

Dancing in the Footsteps of Eve is a beautifully written book about the return of a sense of divinity. Heather Mendel is especially sensitive to the spiritual needs of women. But the real contribution of this book is to offer an intelligent, intimate, and relevant idea of God in a time of confusion and forgetting.

Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul

The Torah teaches that Eve in Hebrew means Mother of all Living. With her wonderful new book Heather Mendel reminds us that we, the living, are - all of us - still dancing in her footsteps. And what a dance it is. Sun and moon; bride and groom; kashrut and karma: chronos and kairos; ontogeny and phylogeny; the mythical and mystical; anima and animus; God and, of course, Goddess. Enjoy!

Rabbi Mark Sameth, author of God's Hidden Name Revealed (Reform Judaism) and Who is He? He is She, CCAR Journal

The return of the divine Mother, Hochmah, Shechina, Sophia, heralds the transformation of the human spirit from competing religious tribes to shared explorations of divine consciousness. She comes to us and through us, and every once in a while there is that rare soul among us with the capacity to help awaken us to Her presence. Heather Mendel is one of these souls and Dancing in the Footsteps of Eve is one of these awakenings. This book is a delight.

Rabbi Rami Shapiro, author of The Divine Feminine; Minyan

With Dancing in the Footsteps of Eve, Heather Mendel joins the welcome chorus of feminist scholarship unearthing and reclaiming the Biblical tradition of the divine feminine. Yet, her candid and tender spiritual memoir is told within, and continually dialogues with, the wider context of her own faith community in Judaism. With an ear for both the needs of the beginning inquirer as well as the more theologically sophisticated scholar, Mendel guides us through a careful retrieving of these life-giving feminine threads in the patriarchal fabric of sacred text. Choosing not to discard the original damaged cloth, she guides us in the re-weaving and strengthening of our concepts and experiences of the Holy. Her extensive research provides references for those who want to learn more and she offers experiential exercises for those yearning to engage the heart. This is accessible and engaging reading for Jews, Christians and seekers alike, and a helpful guide for both laypeople and clergy leaders in congregations. Mendel reminds us that the re-integration of the marginalized parts of both sacred tradition and self will bring great wholeness and healing to all humankind.

Reverend Anne Swallow Gillis, Protestant Minister and Pastoral Counselor