We remember the women with many children, young children, a child who has recently died, those who have experienced miscarriage, infertility or painful births, those who have broken relationships with children and women who have not experienced motherhood at all.

If we are to believe the author of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus' male followers deserted him. And we know from multiple sources that Peter betrayed ever knowing him. But the women remained steadfast and faithful.

Miriam played an integral role in the story of Exodus, yet she's all but ignored during Passover, the holiday that commemorates the Exodus. It's not surprising.

Today, religious folk face modern plagues imposed upon our countries and our planet by a new kind of Pharaoh. All of God's creation -- both humankind and the web of life upon our planet -- are endangered by the overburning of fossil fuels.

When it comes to the Bible, it's easy to fall back on standard interpretations year after year, but when we examine a multifaceted story such as Esther's through a modern lens, we see the many ways the story resonates in contemporary life.

Hearing the horror of the planned genocide, the light went on: Esther connected with her inner self and understood why she had been made queen. Esther had been made queen to save her people.

You wouldn't expect the five book of Moses to promote women's leadership but a patriarchal society led by elders. However, a careful reading of Miriam's actions during the Hebrews Exodus from Egypt might lead you to a dramatically different conclusion.

For the first time, a woman -- me -- is taking the helm at the Academy for Jewish Religion, only the second woman ever to hold the presidency of a rabbinical school. What does it mean?

Despite the Quran's clear promotion of women's rights in Islam, the interpretation of the Hadith and Quran by men has led to patriarchal structures and male dominated cultures.

Scripture is replete with examples of God drawing leaders out of the most dire circumstances. Yet, we must not let Hannah's blessing obscure our vision: Life is a hell for millions.

Along with Christmas, Advent is the glorious and only time of year when Christians across the theological spectrum can agree on women's participation in God's work.

The name of the Torah portion Chayei Sarah, "the Life of Sarah," is bitterly ironic. Sarah dies in the first verse, offstage, as it were, and the action quickly shifts to Abraham's bargaining for her burial place, and then to the story of the next generation, Isaac and Rebecca.

Nobody wielded a needle and thread like my Abuela. With deft rhythm and mesmerizing patterns, she conveyed a life story of painstaking work and imposed silence.

Christians today who want to share the Gospel with any credibility in postmodern culture must learn how to talk like Tina Fey, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, et al. Otherwise our evangelism is about as effective as a black and white "Reefer Madness" video in a junior high health class.

Rachel Held Evans is one of the better known Christian writers in progressive circles these days. Her new book examines what it would mean to live life as a woman according to biblical laws for a year. She uses "grownup" words to talk about things like (gasp!) vaginas.

I only hope the history books will tell future generations that Christians today were pro-life for the unborn and that our pro-life convictions extended to and blessed the lives of the women and girls represented in "Half the Sky."

The next time someone refers to "biblical values," it's worth mentioning to them that the Bible often marginalized women and that's not something anyone should value.

This week's Torah portion, Naso, is a dramatic reminder of women's vulnerability. One of the most notorious ordeals regarding women is found within it.

Saturday night is the anniversary of the giving of Torah at Mt. Sinai. Strange, isn't it, that on the holy day we celebrate the Giving of the Law, we traditionally study the Book of Ruth, the most transgressive of the Bible, a book that explicitly defies a Divine command.

The story of King David and of the Messiah must begin with an act of kindness. Ruth is the love inside the kingdom, the love of the Divine Presence, the love that flows through the whole world.

King David's eldest son Amnon is lovesick for his half-sister Tamar, a virgin princess. Amnon's slimy cousin Yonadav proposes a ruse: Amnon should pretend to be ill, ask King David to send Tamar to make cakes for him in order to help him get well.

Tiferet is the sefirah of the heart. Chanah speaks to God in her heart, telling God of her heart's desire to have a child.

The Shunammite (a woman of the town of Shunem) is a wealthy married woman living in the time of the kings of Israel and Judah. She does lovingkindness out of a sense of abundance and majesty: chesed sh'b'malkhut.

The Talmud tells us: "We were redeemed from Egypt because of the righteousness of the women of that generation." In the spirit of Women's History Month, here is my list of 10 of the most important Jewish women who changed history.

In honor of Queen Esther, heroine of Purim -- and of her predecessor, Queen Vashti, who gets a lot less scroll-time in the Purim story but is no less fascinating -- here's a roundup of some especially badass ladies of the Hebrew Bible and Jewish legend.