Four Who Entered Paradise [Hardcover]

Howard Schwartz (Author), Devis Grebu (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2005

Schwartz's novella based on the well-known passage from the Talmud describing the four who entered paradise.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 220 pages
• Publisher: Jason Aronson (August 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0876685793
• ISBN-13: 978-0876685792
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,117,408 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Howard Schwartz is Professor of English at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He has published three books of poetry, and several books of fiction, including The Captive Soul of the Messiah and Adam's Soul. He has also edited a four-volume set of Jewish folktales, which includes Elijah's Violin & Other Jewish Fairy Tales, Miriam's Tambourine: Jewish Folktales from Around the World, Lilith's Cave: Jewish Tales of the Supernatural and, most recently, Gabriel's Palace: Jewish Mystical Tales. He has also edited three major anthologies: Imperial Messages: One Hundred Modern Parables, Voices Within the Ark: The Modern Jewish Poets (with Anthony Rudolf), and Gates to the New City: A Treasury of Modern Jewish Tales. His recent book, Reimagining the Bible: The Storytelling of the Rabbis, was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award for 1999. In addition, Schwartz has also published ten children's books, including The Diamond Tree (with Barbara Rush, which won the Sydney Taylor Book Award in 1992), Next Year in Jerusalem: 3000 Years of Jewish Tales (which won the National Jewish Book Award and the Aesop Award of the American Folklore Society, both in 1996), A Coat for the Moon (with Barbara Rush, which won Anne Izard Storyeller's Choice Award for 1998 and the 1999 Honor Title of the Storytelling World Awards, and The Day the Rabbi Disappeared: Jewish Holiday Tales of Magic (which won the National Jewish Book Award and The Aesop Prize of the American Folklore Society for 2000). His major book, Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism, won the National Jewish Book Award for 2005 in the category of Reference. Schwartz lives in St. Louis with his wife Tsila, a calligrapher, and his three children, Shira, Nathan and Miriam.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderfully Told Story From Jewish Mystical Lore, October 26, 1999

By 

Howard Bochner (NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Four Who Entered Paradise (Hardcover)

The Talmud tells of four great sages who entered paradise,Rabbi Akiva, Ben Zoma, Ben Azzai and Elisha ben Abuyah. Of the four, one died, one went insane, and one "cut the shoots". Only of Rabbi Akiva is it said that "he ascended in peace and descended in peace." The Talmud gives very little further explanation of this legendary visit to paradise. Howard Schwartz has researched this legend and created a mythical travelogue of the journey. His novella takes into account Talmudic and other scholarly literature regarding this legend and interweaves other common themes of Jewish mysticism. I enjoyed the story immensely, especially the way it brought together numerous pieces of Jewish lore and legend, some of which were already familiar to me, but among which I had never seen a connection. The story is accompanied by an introduction and detailed "Thematic Commentary".