Houses of Study is an eloquent memoir of a Jewish woman’s life and her efforts to reconcile the traditions of her faith with her belief in women’s equality and the pull of modern American living. Ilana M. Blumberg traces her path from a childhood immersed in Hebrew and classical Judaic texts alongside Anglo-American novels and biographies to a womanhood where the two literatures suddenly represent mutually exclusive possibilities for life. Set in “houses of study,” from a Jewish grammar school and high school to a Jerusalem yeshiva for women to a secular American university, her intimate and poignant memoir asks what happens when the traditional Jewish ideal of learning asserts itself in a woman directed by that same tradition toward a life of modesty, early marriage, and motherhood.

This Bison Books edition is updated with discussion questions.

Ilana M. Blumberg is an assistant professor of humanities, culture, and writing at James Madison College, Michigan State University.

“Tension wraps around the pages of Blumberg’s memoir, an ardent intellectual autobiography by a woman in love with both Jewish texts and secular literature. . . . [H]er memoir elucidates . . . the passion for study no matter what a person’s gender.”—Publishers Weekly

“A book that deserves a serious readership: a memoir that reads like a poem, a voice that’s intelligent, brave, passionate and conversant.”—Sandee Brawarsky, Jewish Week

“This book is a union of letters and texts no less magnetic; to enter Ilana Blumberg’s houses of study is, invariably, to become ignited.”—Lilith

"This is a poignant and perceptive account of how a highly educated Jewish woman managed to combine her extensive Jewish knowledge with her insights into English literature. Her journey toward mature awareness, so well described here, has many impediments and we are privileged to take this trip with her."—Morton I. Teicher, National Jewish Post & Opinion

“Blumberg’s moving memoir begins with her experiences learning at a woman’s seminary in Jerusalem after high school, and comes to a close with her reflections on the challenge of raising her daughter to be a committed Jewish woman. The author struggles throughout her work to make peace with traditional Judaism and modern notions of women’s equality. Her experiences confirm and elucidate the complex negotiations in which any woman must engage in today’s society. . . . While this title certainly belongs in a generalist’s collection, Blumberg’s work will also strengthen libraries that focus on gender, autobiography, and Jewish women’s role in modernity.”—Jewish Book World

“In its originality of approach, vigor and beauty of style, and fierce honesty in naming and exploring uncharted territories, this book is a great contribution to women’s studies, autobiography and memoir, and Jewish studies.”—Mary Gordon, author of Final Payments and The Company of Women

Winner of the 2008 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature Choice Award

2007 National Jewish Book Award in Women Studies Runner-Up