[3] According to Judith Plaskow, a founding member of the group, the need for the collective was first identified by American Jewish feminists in 1980, and the planning for the collective first began at the 1980 National Havurah Summer Institute, an event that offered a religious fellowship program for like-minded Jews.
As a collective running since the 1980s, B'not Esh inspired many Jewish feminist projects, conferences, books, and other initiatives.
[2] According to Martha Ackelsberg, a founding member, during the early years of the group's existence, the question of Jewish liturgy was highly contested, with some members enthusiastically participating and enjoying an all women's prayer service for the Jewish Sabbath, while others objected to the use of traditional liturgical text that were male-dominated.
The conflict led the group to incorporate new elements into the Jewish prayer service including poetry and meditation, as well as modifications to the traditional liturgical language by feminizing the name of God.
By 1985, the group's consensus was that many forms of prayer and spirituality would have to be tried to overcome the limits of their traditional Jewish education and upbringing.