Includes bibliographical references and index.

"A spiritual companion and political manifesto that cuts through objectification and inspiration alike to offer a powerful new account of disability in biblical narrative and contemporary culture"--,Provided by publisher.

Julia Watts Belser gets stopped by strangers wanting to know what's wrong with her. But what's wrong isn't her wheelchair--it's exclusion, objectification, pity, and disdain. These attitudes about disability have such deep cultural roots that we almost forget their sources. But open the Bible and disability is everywhere. Moses stutters and believes he is unable to unable to answer God's call. Issac's blindness lets his wife trick him into bestowing his blessing on his younger son. Jesus heals the sick, the blind, the paralyzed, and the possessed. For centuries, these stories have been retold by religious leaders and cultural commentators who treat disability as misfortune, as a metaphor for spiritual incapacity, or as a challenge to be overcome. Loving Our Own Bones turns that perspective on its head. A scholar, an activist, a rabbi, and a fearless writer, Belser delves deeply into sacred literature, braiding the insights of disabled, feminist, Black and queer thinkers alongside her own experiences as a queer disabled Jewish feminist to gift us with a radical act of spiritual imagination. Her fresh readings of familiar biblical stories demonstrate how disability wisdom can guide us all toward a powerful reckoning with the complexities of the flesh. She challenges biblical commentators who traffic in disability stigma and shame, pushing back against interpretations that demean disabled people and diminish the vitality of disabled lives. And she shows how Sabbath rest can be a powerful counter to the relentless demand for productivity, an act of spiritual resistance in a culture that makes work the signal measure of our worth."--Front cover flap.

National Jewish Book Award Winner in Contemporary Jewish Life & Practice Myra H. Kraft Memorial Award.

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