WOMEN OF THE BOOK - Jewish Public Library

WOMEN OF THE BOOK
Read about Biblical &
Talmudic Women
Lisez à propos de femmes
de la bible et le talmud
Fiction
Anton, Maggie
Rashi’s Daughters (series):
• Book I: Joheved (2005):
In 1068, the scholar Salomon ben Isaac returns home to take
over the family winemaking business and embark on a path that
will indelibly influence the Jewish world—writing the first Talmud
commentary, and teaching it to his daughters. Joheved, her
mind and spirit awakened, knows the risk and keeps her
learning hidden. When she weds, must she choose between
marital happiness and her love of Talmud?
• Book II: Miriam (2007):
Having no sons, Salomon continues to teach his daughters the
intricacies of the Talmud in an era when such scholarship for
women was unheard of. Miriam, a midwife and a mohel—
performing circumcisions—cannot foresee how she will be
tested. Especially when a handsome and learned suitor arrives
in Troyes, one who struggles with a secret that, if revealed,
would expose them both to ruin.
• Book III: Rachel (2009):
Rachel is Salomon’s favorite and adored by her husband,
Eliezer. But everything she holds dear is threatened as the
marauders of the First Crusade massacre the Jews of Germany
and her father suffers a stroke. Eliezer wants them to move to
the safety of Spain, but Rachel is determined to stay in France
and help her family save the Troyes yeshiva, the only remnant
of the great Talmud academies.
• Prequel: Secret Scholar (2008):
Joheved has a secret … she is no ordinary girl. Smart and
independent, her life changes when her father, Salomon ben
Isaac, begins teaching her Talmud. But Joheved hides her
passion for learning - even from her betrothed. How long can
she continue her deception and what will happen when,
inevitably, her scholarship is revealed?
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Diamant Anita
The Red Tent (1997):
• In a story based on the Book of Genesis, Jacob's only
daughter, Dinah, shares her unique perspectives on the origins
of many of our modern religious practices and sexual politics,
eager to impart the lessons in endurance and humanity she has
learned from her father's wives.
Edghill, India
• Queenmaker: a novel of King David's Queen (2002)
A retelling of the biblical story of King David and Queen Michal
follows Michal, who lived and reigned in David's court for more
than forty years, as she speaks about her hopes and fears
while war, betrayal, death, and prophecy rage through the
Promised Land.
Elliott, Elissa
• Eve: a novel of the first woman (2009):
It is the world’s oldest tale: the story of Eve, her husband,
Adam, and the tragedy that would overcome her sons…. In this
luminous debut novel, Elissa Elliott puts a powerful twist on
biblical narrative, boldly reimagining Eve’s journey.
Etzioni, Halevy, Eva
• The Garden of Ruth (2007):
Several generations after the beautiful Moabite widow Ruth
marries Boaz, fifteen-year-old Osnath, a young woman from
Ramah, comes to Bethlehem to spend time with relatives. She
uncovers the true story of Ruth, but falls prey to the seduction
of her cousin Eliab as she learns that Ruth had an unnamed
lover before her marriage to Boaz.
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• The Song of Hannah (2005):
Hannah and Pninah, once close childhood friends, become
rivals for the attention of Elkanah, the man who has married
them both.
• The Triumph of Deborah (2008):
In ancient Israel, war is looming. Deborah has coerced warrior
Barak into launching a strike against the neighbouring
Canaanites, who threaten their people with destruction.
Halter, Marek
• Lilah (2006):
The third book in Halter's Canaan Trilogy tells the story of the
high priest Ezra's sister, whose protest against religious
fanaticism saved her people.
• Sarah (2004):
Born into a world of luxury in the ancient Sumerian city of Ur,
Sarah flees the arranged marriage planned by her father, a
decision that leads to an encounter with Abram, a member of a
nomadic tribe of outsiders, with whom she is reunited many
years later in her exalted position as high priestess of the
goddess Ishtar.
• Zipporah, wife of Moses: a novel (2005)
Focuses on the life of Zipporah, the adopted Ethiopian daughter
of Jethro, high priest of the Midanites, who became the consort
of Moses and who played a vital role in supporting Moses in
returning to Egypt to lead the Israelite slaves to freedom.
Kohn, Rebecca
• The gilded chamber: a novel of queen Esther (2004):
A retelling of the life of Queen Esther from her youth as an
orphan, her selection as the wife of a powerful Persian king,
and the sacrifices she makes in order to save her people from
annihilation.
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• Seven days to the sea: an epic novel of the Exodus (2006):
Together, Miriam and Tzipporah weave a narrative that gives
voice to the women of Exodus - their lives, their community, and
ultimately, their sisterhood.
Weil, Greta
• Bride Price (1991):
German writer Weil, in her first book to be published in English,
juxtaposes a personal memoir of grief, illness, age, and
insecure identity with a fleshing out of the biblical character of
Michal, King David’s first wife.
Non- Fiction: A Selection
After the Apple by Naomi Harris Rosenblatt (2005) ML 296.082
R813a
Blending elements of history, psychology, and storytelling, the author
retells the stories of female characters from the Hebrew Bible - Leah,
Rachel, Sarah, Rebecca, Delilah, and Jezebel - and their surprisingly
modern dilemmas and problems they are forced to confront.
Biblical Women Unbound: Counter-tales by Norma Rosen. (1996)
ML 296.19 R813b
In a series of lively midrashic readings of selected biblical texts,
Rosen captures the voices of a number of biblical women who are
often silenced in the traditional biblical tales in which they appear.
Daughters of Miriam: Women Prophets in Ancient Israel
by Wilda Gafney. (2008) ML 221.92082 G131d
Women prophets gave powerful voice to faith at the formative
moments in ancient Israel s development, and were expected in
biblical visions of the future. Now they come to the foreground as
Gafney explores prophetic practices in ancient Israel.
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Eve's Journey: Feminine Images in Hebraic Literary Tradition
by Nehama Aschkenasy (1994) ML 892.409 A813e
Traces the migration of several female images and feminine
situations from their early appearances in Biblical writings to their
incarnations in modern Hebraic literature.
The Five Books of Miriam: A Woman’s Commentary on the
Torah
by Ellen Frankel (1996) ML 222.107 F829f
An exploration of the stories, conflicts, and dreams of the women of
the Bible.
Good Girls, Bad Girls: the Enduring Lessons of Twelve Women
of the Old Testament by T.J. Wray. (2008) ML 221.922082 W939g
A nuanced look at twelve women in the Old Testament, exploring
their lives in historical context, and what these stories might mean to
women today.
If We Could Hear Them Now: Encounters with Legendary Jewish
Heroines by Alice Becker Lehrer (2009) ML 221.082 B395i
Jewish heroines come to life from different eras of Jewish history.
The author conducts interviews with different greats of the past,
allowing each woman to tell her story from a personal point of view.
Lethal Love: Feminist Literary Readings of Biblical Love Stories
by Mieke Bal (1987) ML 221.92 B171l
A study of biblical love stories and the ways we read them using
literary theory, feminism, and narrative theory.
Listen to Her Voice Women of the Hebrew Bible by Miki Raver
(1998)
ML 221.92082 R254L
Includes excerpts from the Bible and commentary about 18 women:
Eve, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, Dina, Tamar, Miriam, Deborah,
Delilah, Hannah, Abigail, Bathsheba, Queen of Sheba, Jezebel, Ruth,
Naomi, and Esther
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Midrashic Women: Formations of the Feminine in Rabbinic
Literature
by Judith R. Baskin(2002) ML 296.1406 B315m
A unique look at how non-legal rabbinic writings imagine women and
their lives.
Moses’ Women by Shera Aranoff Tuchman and Sandra E. Rapoport.
(2008) ML 221.92 T888m
Drawing on the Talmud and the Midrash, Tuchman and
Rapoport “entered the lives of these heroic Hebrew women” who
were enslaved by the pharaohs, isolated from their husbands, and
ordered to kill not only others but also their own children.
Out of the Garden: Women Writers on the Bible by Christina
Buchmann and Celina Spiegel (1994) ML 221.6082 B919o
Drawing on their own experiences and interests, Louise Erdrich,
Cynthia Ozick, Fay Weldon, Phyllis Trible, Rebecca Goldstein, June
Jordan, Ursula K. Le Guin, and twenty-one other writers boldly,
imaginatively address the Old Testament stories, characters, and
poetry that mean the most to them.
The Passions of the Matriarchs by Shera Aranoff Tuchman &
Sandra E. Rapoport (2004) ML 222.11092 T888p
Draws extensively upon classical biblical commentaries and Talmudic
and Rabbinic writings to reveal the underlying emotions of the
matriarchs.
Reading Ruth: Contemporary Women Reclaim a Sacred Story
by Judith Kates and Gail Twersky Reimer (1994) ML 224.15 K19r
This collection of modern-day interpretations brings together the
wisdom, sensitivity, and spirituality of the biblical story of Ruth with
the struggles and insights of contemporary women.
Reading the Women of the Bible by Tikva Frymer-Kensky (2002)
ML 221.922082 F948r
A professor of Hebrew Bible at the Divinity School at the University of
Chicago, Frymer-Kensky investigates biblical stories about women
focusing on four groups of women: the victors, the victims, the virgins, and
those with voice.
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Sarah the Priestess: The First Matriarch of Genesis by Savina Teubal
(1984) ML 222.1 T351s
Even though Sarah is only mentioned in Genesis, Teubal constructs an indepth study of the first biblical matriarch. See also Hagar the Egyptian: The
Lost Tradition of the Matriarchs.
Sisters at Sinai by Jill Hammer (2001) ML 223.83 H224s
A collection of twenty-four wonderfully imaginative and inspiring stories
about biblical women and their male counterparts.
Tracing the evidence: Dinah in post-Hebrew Bible literature
by Mary Anna Bader (2008) ML 222.1092 B134t
Examines the post-biblical literary developments of Dinah, the daughter of
Leah and Jacob.
Warrior, Dancer, Seductress Queen: Women in Judges and Biblical
Israel by Susan Ackerman (1998) ML 223.1206082 A182w
Offers a keen analysis of the main types of women found in Judges, and
looks to other biblical books and to ancient Near Eastern literature to
demonstrate how these types recur elsewhere.
Women in the Hebrew Bible: A Reader by Alice Bach (1999)
ML 221.83054 W872
A single volume collection of essays examining women's roles in the
Hebrew Bible written by the major scholars in the field of biblical studies
and literary theory.
The Women of the Torah: Commentaries from the Talmud, Midrash,
and Kabbalah. By Barbara Ronson (1998) ML 221.92082 R774w
This book examines through the lens of the ancient Talmudic, Midrashic,
and Kabbalistic commentaries the scriptural passages related to our
ancestral mothers, wives, and daughters.
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Romans
Banon, Patrick.
• Bethsabée: le secret de la reine de Jérusalem (2008)
Quand le roi Salomon est roi d'Israël et le temple de Jérusalem
est en construction, recluse dans la maison de David,
Bethsabée, la femme la plus dangereuse du royaume, se
meurt. Empoisonnement ou châtiment divin?
Halter, Marek.
• La reine de Saba: roman. (2008)
Elle était noire. Elle était belle. Elle subjuguait par son esprit.
Guerrière, elle imposa la paix, neuf siècles avant notre ère, sur
le fabuleux royaume de Saba, pays d'or et d'encens. Mais sa
plus belle bataille fut celle de l'amour et de l'intelligence mêlés.
Elle défia le roi Salomon par le jeu des énigmes. Vaincue, elle
se donna à lui pour trois éblouissantes nuits.
• Sarah: roman (2003) Bible au féminin v. 1
Quelle est donc la longue histoire de cette femme si belle qui
accompagna Abraham, père du monothéisme, sur les routes du
Moyen Orient? Passionnée et bouleversante, elle est l'une des
héroïnes les plus modernes de la Bible.
• Tsippora: roman (2003) Bible au féminin v. 2
Il y a plus de trois mille ans, une enfant noire est recueillie au
bord de la mer Rouge. On l'appelle Tsippora, l'"Oiseau". La
couleur de sa peau a déjà décidé de son avenir: nul ne la
voudra pour épouse. Un jour, pourtant, près d'un puits, un
homme la regarde comme aucun autre. Il s'appelle Moïse et fuit
l'Égypte.
• Lilah: roman (2004) Bible au féminin v. 3
A Suse, l'opulente capitale de l'Empire perse où le peuple juif
vit en exil, la jeune Lilah doit épouser Antinoès, guerrier perse.
Mais Ezra, son frère, s'oppose à ce mariage avec un étranger.
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Villars, Janine.
• La reine de Saba. (1981)
Vie et passion de Balkis, reine de Saba. Salomon, roi des
Hébreux, auquel elle rendait visite de sa lointaine Arabie du
Sud, tomba amoureux d'elle et la combla de faveurs et de
présents. En la fondant sur des données économico-politiques
plausibles, l'auteur tente de faire entrer "la légende dans
l'Histoire".
Documentaires
Quand les femmes lisent la Bible sous la direction de Janine
Elkouby et Sonia Sarah Lipsye. (2007) ML 296.082 E43q
Le lecteur est invité à redécouvrir sous un jour nouveau les grandes
figures féminines de la Bible et les femmes érudites dans l'exégèse
au cours des siècles, ou encore à réfléchir sur le féminin dans la
Kabbale.
Le monde juif au féminin: l'histoire d'une éducation de la Bible à
nos jours, par Liliane Ackermann (2003) ML 296.68082 A182m
A travers l’enseignement trois fois millénaire du judaïsme,
Ackermann nous plonge dans les textes pour dévoiler l’aspect
fondamental du processus d’éducation de la femme juive.
La femme au temps de la Bible, par Josy Eisenberg. (1993)
ML 220.82092 E36f
La Bible passe pour un livre d'hommes. Ses héros les plus célèbres,
d'Abraham à Saint Paul, sont des hommes, et Dieu lui-même est bien
Dieu le Père. Pourtant, d'Eve à Marie, en passant par Sarah et
Rebecca, nombreuses sont les femmes qui ont joué un rôle majeur
au cours des quinze siècles que couvrent l'Ancien et le Nouveau
Testament. Quel était le statut social, religieux et économique de ces
femmes ? Comment la bible jugeait-elle la féminité?
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Les éternelles fictives: des femmes de la Bible, par Francine
Campeau. (1990) ML 221.922 C193e
Une oeuvre tout à fait féministe, qui s'inspire de divers passages de
la Bible, qualifiés de "récits historiques à peine vraisemblables" et qui
vise à donner la parole à des femmes connues pour leur rôle mineur.
Les femmes de la Bible, par Jacqueline Kelen. (1985) ML 221.83
K29f
Portraits de femmes dans la bible; vierges, épouses, séductrices,
prophétesses, prostituées...
Femmes imaginaires: l'Ancien Testament au risque d'une
narratologie critique, par Mieke Bal. (1985) ML 221.92 B171f
Une étude des histoires d'amour biblique en utilisant la théorie
littéraire, le féminisme et la théorie du récit.
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Winter/Spring 2010
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