A common theme seen across each page of this website, is the importance of Jewish organizations, societies, and groups for southern Jewish women. In addition to the political and religious role these groups served, the social role of German-Jewish women’s organizations in small towns was very important at the time. Women would start organizations that have an official religious title and use it as a place to gossip and talk about their lives. In one instance, the women of the B'er Chayim sisterhood have mentioned that most meetings were ‘‘little more than ‘koffee klatches’ to which members brought their knitting and sewing" (Weissbach, 240). The group collected dues of twenty-five cents at each meeting and used the money for charity or for repair projects at its temple, but it's main purpose was to provide a place for some pleasant conversation.
The work of some of the "koffee klatches" went beyond social bonding when they were fundraising, which was one of the most important duties of these affiliations. Women’s organizations sponsoring social events, including teas, parties, and bazaars, which often featured the sale of items such as baked goods and needlework that the women themselves had prepared during their "meetings". Another thing to note is that Rabbi George Zepin suggested early in the twentieth century that women’s societies in the South were more likely than those in the North to be solely concerned with socializing (Weissbach). Unfortunately we have no evidence to support this statement, but it is interesting that in that time period that was the impression that some people held.
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