The Stains of Culture: An Ethno-Reading of Karaite Jewish Women
Ruth Tsoffar
Raphael Patai Series in Jewish Folklore and Anthropology
“Expertly matching boldness with subtlety, Ruth Tsoffar explores and analyzes the ‘language of blood’ (menstruation) that continues to shape and texture the contours of Karaite Jewish quotidian practices. Traversing the contested, male-centered history of ‘authentic’ Judaism, she effectively positions in high relief the crucial and necessary role of Karaite women as cultural reproducers. Moreover, Tsoffar’s brave ethnography is simultaneously a refreshingly honest and theoretically rigorous study of the cultural politics of purity and pollution in contemporary society.”
—Jennifer Robertson, University of Michigan
“Combing textual analysis and ethnographic study, Tsoffar writes on women’s bodily practices vis-à-vis patriarchal authority. The Stains of Culture examines women’s rituals as forms of ‘reading,’ precisely in relation to the Karaite community, whose tradition against interpretation is at the very core of its identity.”
—Ella Shohat, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University
“To read as a Karaite, Ruth Tsoffar tells us, is to attend to the alphabet that spells text, body, and blood. It means compellingly to describe and reenact how a new and ancient community of readers lives and resists a double minoritization that cuts across historical, religious, and gender lines. After this unique and exacting book, one should no longer utter—indeed, read—the word ‘Judaism’ with much tranquility.”
—Gil Anidjar, Columbia University