Feminist scholars have long grappled with how to approach rabbinic interpretations of biblical women - whether to critically deconstruct their patriarchal foundations or reclaim them through creative reinterpretation. Two recent works exemplify these divergent paths: Judith Baskin's "Midrashic Women" and Jill Hammer's "Sisters at Sinai." Within the broader evolution of feminist biblical scholarship since the 1970s, these texts illuminate the tension between hermeneutics of suspicion and liberation theology approaches to canonical reinterpretation. Baskin systematically examines aggadic midrash through a critical lens, revealing how rabbinic literature constructed women as inherently inferior and ancillary to men, particularly in creation narratives, concepts of female otherness, and prescribed domestic roles. Hammer, conversely, crafts original midrashic narratives that mine traditional sources for positive elements while deliberately inverting misogynistic interpretations to create empowering female role models. Through comparative analysis of their treatment of specific biblical figures and underlying theological commitments, fundamental contrasts emerge between Baskin's academic detachment and Hammer's religious engagement, between critique and redemption. Both perspectives ultimately enrich feminist Jewish scholarship - Baskin by exposing systemic problems in traditional interpretation, Hammer by demonstrating constructive possibilities for contemporary religious meaning-making.