Rashi's Daughters, Book I: Joheved: A Novel of Love and the Talmud in Medieval France [Paperback]

Maggie Anton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 31, 2007 | Series: Rashi's Daughters (Book 1)

The first two novels in a dramatic trilogy set in eleventh-century France about the lives and loves of three daughters of the great Talmud scholar

In 1068, the scholar Salomon ben Isaac returns home to Troyes, France, 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 secretly teaching Talmud to his daughters.

Joheved, the eldest of his three girls, finds her mind and spirit awakened by religious study, but, knowing the risk, she must keep her passion for learning and prayer hidden. When she becomes betrothed to Meir ben Samuel, she is forced to choose between marital happiness and being true to her love of the Talmud.

Rich in period detail and drama, Joheved is a must read for fans of Tracy Chevalier?s Girl With a Pearl Earring.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This carefully researched work provides a glimpse into the little-known medieval Jewish world in which Rashi lived and worked." -- Naomi Ragen, Dec 2004

Anton turns sketchy knowledge of Solomon ben Isaac (Rashi) and his family into an absorbing historical novel. -- Jewish Times News, August 18, 2005

Much like The Red Tent, it delves into rituals of women who were forgotten by history and marginalized by society. -- Library Journal, July 12, 2005

Recreates a medieval French community faithful to little-known details of Jewish ritual, including marital relations, childbirth, life-cycle events and holidays. -- The Jewish Press, Jan 11, 2006

Takes the torch from Anita Diamant, while using more research to explain the phenomenon that is Rashi and his daughters. -- The J of Northern California, August 25, 2005

The way Anton's extensive research and imagination combine to retrieve the lives of Jewish women is realistic and captivating. -- Dvora Weisberg, Nov 2004

 Blending passages of Talmudic argument with imagined human dramas of the medieval scholar's household, it entertains and educates. -- Judith R. Baskin, Dec 2004 --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Author

"Rashi's Daughters" is the story of the three daughters of the great Talmudic authority Salomon ben Isaac, a.k.a. Rashi, who lived in 11th century Troyes, France and had no sons. At a time when most women were illiterate and the rare educated woman was one who could read the Bible, Rashi's daughters studied Talmud. They were also vintners, merchants and mothers of the next generation of Talmudic scholars.

Built on seven years of exhaustive historical research and ten years of Talmud study, "Rashi's Daughters" explores what might have been, weaving actual events, as described in responsa literature and Talmud commentaries, into an account of the lives of these amazing women. Talmud is an integral part of these novels; readers will learn along with Rashi's daughters as he explains selected texts. This is also the story of the medieval French Jewish community, how they lived, loved, worked, ate, prayed and interacted with their non-Jewish neighbors. A wealth of material about Jewish women's daily lives is provided, including how they observed life cycle events and holidays.

I wrote this book because I wanted to share my research into Jewish women's lives in medieval France, how the prosperity and tolerance they enjoyed differed from the negative stereotypes usually associated with the Middle Ages. In addition, I wished to encourage women to study Talmud, the foundation of Jewish Law that, until very recently, women have been unable to access. I hoped to share the excitement and pleasure Talmud study can engender.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Plume (July 31, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452288622
• ISBN-13: 978-0452288621
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #144,792 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Maggie Anton was born Margaret Antonofsky in Los Angeles, California. Raised in a secular, socialist household, she reached adulthood with little knowledge of the Jewish religion. All that changed when David Parkhurst, who was to become her husband, entered her life, and they both discovered Judaism as adults. That was the start of a lifetime of adult Jewish education, synagogue involvement, and ritual observance.

In the early 1990's, Anton learned about a women's Talmud class taught by Rachel Adler, now a professor at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles. Nearly every Wednesday for five years, she and about six other women met around Rachel's dining room table to study the Steinsaltz Hebrew edition of Tractate Berachot. Teachers, tractates, locations and students changed, but Wednesday remained Talmud night for serious Jewish women scholars.

In 1997, as her children Emily and Ari left the house and her mother was declining with Alzheimer's Disease, Anton sought new interests. She became intrigued with the idea that Rashi, one of the greatest Jewish scholars ever, had no sons, only three daughters, and that their sons, Rashi's grandsons, became the Tosafot, the great twelfth century Talmud commentators. Slowly but surely, she began to research the family and the time in which they lived. Much was written about Rashi and the Tosafot, but almost nothing of the daughters, except their names and the names of their husbands. Legend has it that Rashi's daughters were learned in a time when women were traditionally forbidden to study the sacred texts. These forgotten women seemed ripe for rediscovery, and the idea of a book about them was born.

"Rashi's Daughters:Book I - JOHEVED" was published in 2005, in honor of the 900th anniversary of Rashi's death, "Book II-MIRIAM" in 2007, and "Book III - RACHEL" in August 2009 by Plume. A YA version for ages 9-14, "Rashi's Daughter: Secret Scholar" was published in 2008 by JPS.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The power of learning, faith, and the two sides of love, June 13, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rashi's Daughters, Book 1: Joheved (Paperback)

Set in 1068, Rashi's Daughters: A Novel of Life, Love and Talmud in Medieval France is a novel about a winemaker and Talmud scholar, who undertakes an action that would be viewed negatively by the community if it became known - he dares to teach the Talmud to his three daughters. The eldest daughter finds her mind and spirit awakened with her learning, yet knows she must keep her knowledge hidden, even from her betrothed. Yet when she and her husband encounter their first crisis, the eldest daughter must make the fateful choice between marital happiness and her true self. A forceful novel of the power of learning, faith, and the two sides of love.

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars no matter your faith, this is our history, December 11, 2005

By 

Charlie_in_la "charlie" (los angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rashi's Daughters, Book 1: Joheved (Paperback)

I became interested in this book through a friend. I was fascinated by how the author made these medieval times come alive. Her discussions of medical care, herbology, and most important Talmud and studying were a wonderful backdrop for this entrancing tale.

Not being Jewish, I don't really understand the discussions of Talmud; I have not studied them. But, I do, through this book, understand their importance and meaning to Johoved. The author has somehow shared that in her book.

I look forward to her next book. If it is as well-written as this, it should be a "best-seller".

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good in general but Jewish life lacks authenticity, May 10, 2009

By 

D. L. Lederman "leahiniowa" (Iowa USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rashi's Daughters, Book 1: Joheved (Paperback)

I am an Orthodox Jew who happens to deeply enjoy history and well-written historic fiction. I have strongly mixed feelings about this book. I am deeply impressed with the research that went into this book as well as Anton's ability to compile an enjoyable story from her research.

Unfortunately, it is clear that Anton does not know enough about living the type of authentically observant life that Rashi and his family enjoyed to write about these people without over-laying them with a 21st century mentality.

Those of us who follow the traditions given down from parent to child over the generations know that Rashi's daughters did not wear tefillin and learn Talmud because they were rebels. On the contrary, they were very holy women who followed the law to the letter. Judaism is, at its authentic pure level, NOT a sexist religion.

Further, those of us who live the observant lifestyle are aware at a bone-deep level the benefits of abstaining from prohibited activites. E.g., the prohibition against mature, unmarried men and women touching at all (not to mention "making out" or "snogging" or what have you), along with the observance of the laws of married life, create an intense, passionate bond between husband and wife. No intelligent woman (or man) who has lived this lifestyle and learned significant amounts of Torah (the term Torah is often used to include the Talmud, Mishnah, Midrashim, etc. - basically all of the accumulated studies) would be foolish enough to put themselves in a position such as the female characters in this book found themselves with their "beaux."

To clarify what one of the other reviewers stated, yes, Jewish women at that time were mostly illiterate - especially as regards to Judaic studies. But so were most of the Jewish men. Only the special few - those with outstanding mental abilities or those with the finances to pay for an education - were able to learn enough to read and/or write Hebrew. And learning more than that was even harder to accomplish.

On the other hand, Anton's portrayal of Rashi's mother as an active, educated intelligent woman who ran her own business is strikingly accurate. Plus, I enjoyed learning about the lifestyle and history of Jews living during the time of Rashi.

I really would have preferred to give the book 3 1/2 stars or even 3.75 stars, because I do think it is very well-written and interesting. Unfortunately, books which do not portray Torah true Judaism accurately tend to do more harm than good. From the other reviews I have read, this already seems to be the case.