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The Five Greatest Forgotten Jewish Characters

Posted by Sarah in JPS Books, Jewish Books, Jewish Knowledge on November 12, 2009

If I had to give one downside to the Bible, it might be its inclusion of hundreds of different people. Covering thousands of years, the Jewish Bible tells the history of the Jews, but which ones? Sure. Everyone knows Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Jacob, Ruth, and more. But, what about the hundreds of other people named in the Bible that few remember?

While working on creating the Which Jewish Bible Character Are You? Facebook quiz, I found myself consulting the JPS book, Who’s Who in the Jewish Bible. I immediately fell in love. The book is amazing! It provides detailed information about each person mentioned in the Bible, something that was super helpful when creating the Facebook quiz. Even though I was focusing on some of the more major Biblical heroes/heroines, I couldn’t help but notice all the forgotten people – the people you might hear about once a year in a specific Torah portion or during a certain holiday but who often get overlooked.

So, in an attempt to discover new information, I spent some quality time perusing the pages of this JPS guide. In the end, I discovered tons of interesting people. But, since I can’t name them all, here are the five greatest forgotten characters from the Jewish Bible:

1. Mordecai – a central figure in the story of Purim, he is usually overshadowed by the characters of Esther and Haman. Still, Mordecai plays a pivotal role in the story, giving Esther information about a plot to assassinate the king. This information creates trust between Esther and the king, something that helps her thwart Haman’s plan and save her people!

2. Ishmael – even though he wasn’t Jewish, Ishmael was Abraham’s first son. While Judaism favors Isaac as Abraham’s true heir, do not forget that Ishmael went on to become the ancestor of many great religious nations, including Islam.

3. Dinah – the only daughter of Jacob’s thirteen children, she had to contend with a lot of testosterone and undoubtedly led an interesting life. Unfortunately, her main story involves her being raped and her brothers murdering the culprit, along with all the other men in the city . However, if you want a different spin on the tale, I suggest reading The Red Tent by Anita Diamant.

4. Samson – while most know the story of Samson and Delilah, I couldn’t help but give Samson a place in my list. For one thing, what’s cooler than a guy who derives strength from his hair? It seems so strange. Not to mention, it never ceases to amaze me that a man would tell a woman who has repeatedly tried to trick him the secret to his strength. It’s not like Delilah was trustworthy…

5. Boaz – A member of the tribe of Judah, Boaz married Ruth (who followed her mother-in-law after the death of her husband and converted to Judaism). I always thought of Boaz as a really great character of the Bible. He seems kind, and he certainly had some impressive descendants – he was King David’s great grandfather!

Enjoy some of these forgotten characters, and feel free to discover more! Happy hunting!

-Sarah

bible, education, jewish history, Jewish Publication Society, JPS, religion, tanakh, text study, women

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A Literary “Whisper Down the Lane”?

Posted by Sarah in Jewish Books, Jewish Knowledge on October 1, 2009

You’ve probably heard so much about Anne Frank throughout your life that a post on it right now may seem redundant and typical – a Jewish blog writing about one of the most famous nonfiction Jewish books. I get it. And yet, I recently read about a book that analyzes Anne Frank’s diary and its adaptations over time.

How has this well-known account changed as people alter it into movies and stage plays?

According to Francine Prose, author of the new book Anne Frank: the Book, the Life, the Afterlife, the book’s fate following initial publication is just as interesting as the history it portrays. With different parts emphasized, universalized, or downplayed, the overall story of the girl hiding in the annex has changed. And, despite what people think, the book does not necessarily “teach itself.” So what are we supposed to take from it? How do we learn the lessons as the product morphs over time?

Prose’s critique made me think. I remember in eighth grade being assigned this book, and instead of writing papers about it or taking tests, each class was broken into groups and told to perform the book in skit form. We could adapt the book as necessary, with the goal being to maintain the major plot line while being unique (especially since there were probably 20 groups that had to perform the same story!) I have to admit, it wasn’t my favorite assignment. Like the good little nerd that I was, I preferred writing! Not to mention, I have pretty bad stage fright. So, the idea of getting up in front of my entire grade to perform a skit was terrifying. Still, the assignment had been made and I dutifully played my part, fully decked out in a hideously embarrassing flannel nightgown.

As we tried to meet the teachers’ expectations, my group decided to assign each character a stereotypical personality – scholarly, preppy, ditsy, snobby, sporty, and more. Let’s face it. It was middle school and these were the stereotypes each of us encountered everyday. With these personalities in mind, the play took on a comedic mood and earned first place for the assignment. Exciting, right? Of course!

But, that’s the problem.

Our skit became more about having fun and getting a good grade than learning the lessons intended. Not to mention, the performance stood out by adding humor to a story that, in reality, isn’t very funny. True, some pieces of Frank’s narrative may invoke humor, but few can argue that the story of a girl hiding from a group committing genocide is funny. So, I can’t help but think of my eighth grade skit and how it fits right into Prose’s look at how society has altered this story. In the end, it begs the question. How far is too far? And, at what point do we lose the essence of the original piece?

-Sarah

Anne Frank, books, comedy, education, jewish books, jewish history, tradition, trends, women

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Guess Who’s Coming to Break the Fast?

Posted by Sarah in Jewish Books, Jewish Knowledge, Publishing on September 24, 2009

We’ve all been asked the tough question before: Name 5 people, dead or alive, with whom you would want to have dinner. Well, with all the options, why not narrow it down? Instead, let’s take a look at the top 5 Jewish authors with whom I would want to “break the fast” with this Yom Kippur:

1. Ayn Rand – Since The Fountainhead ranks as one of my top ten favorite books, I couldn’t resist including its author in my dinner party. Her views on capitalism made her a fascinating writer for her time, and only she can get away with writing 30-page monologues and still have readers intrigued. Besides, how great is the name Ellsworth Toohey?? While she might get carried away and dominate the conversation, her opinionated personality means she’ll be able to hold her own as the only woman invited.

2. Maurice Sendak – Yes, this is the author of children’s books, most notably, Where The Wild Things Are. But, don’t be deceived by this fact. Children’s book can be just as powerful as adult genres, and Sendak knew that. No other children’s book tackles such complex issues about family so well. Also, let’s face it. The line, “…let the wild rumpus start!” is one of the greatest. The man who can make a word like “rumpus” popular is someone I want to meet!

3. Jonathan Safran Foer – Still a young writer, Foer has written a book that still leaves me wondering: Everything is Illuminated. Depicting the story of a man searching for the woman who saved his grandfather during the holocaust, the book provides a vivid history as it flashes back and forth through time. But, what really makes this story great is the character of, Alex, the Ukrainian guide. His garbled misuse of the English language is amusing, but it’s his words that leave you guessing at the end of the book. So, I have some questions for this author!

4. Philip Roth – His famous novel, Portnoy’s Complaint, was one of the first books I read in college. I still remember being shocked by such explicit eroticism, and it’s thanks to Roth that I discovered the idea that books about sex aren’t always just about sex. Not to mention, people still wonder if the book is really a partial autobiography of Roth himself – wouldn’t you like to know if it’s true?

5. Shel Silverstein – As the writer of those crazy and memorable poems that so many children love, I couldn’t resist inviting Shel Silverstein to my dinner party. It’s probably because, when I was little, I was obsessed with one of his poems about a king whose mouth gets stuck shut after eating peanut butter sandwiches. I want to meet the man behind such a crazy and fun poem!

-Sarah

american jewish history, books, children's books, jewish authors, jewish books, publishing industry, women

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“This Day… In JPS History”: Henrietta Szold

Posted by Naomi in JPS History on July 28, 2009

Source: http://jwa.org

I just discovered this really fun tidbit on This Day… In Jewish History:

July 28, 1893: The Philadelphia Jewish Exponent announced that Henrietta Szold would be moving to Philadelphia from her home in Baltimore to serve as the secretary and first paid employee of the Jewish Publication Society (JPS). Szold had been elected as the only female member of the JPS publication committee when the organization was founded in 1888 in order to provide a steady series of substantive works of Jewish culture to an American audience […] She had already served the organization as an author, translator, and editor, but now she would be a paid employee […] The Jewish Exponent article about her move to JPS suggests that, even before the formal commencement of this work, Szold was recognized as a woman who had and would continue to play an important role in the American Jewish community […]

Szold’s work for JPS was monumental. Although she worked under the title and salary of secretary, she served as translator, indexer, fact checker, proofreader, statistician, administrator, and editor, overseeing the publication of 87 books during her tenure. Szold’s clear mind, exhaustive dedication, and meticulous attention to detail enabled the Society to offer a remarkable literary and scholarly array. Many of the translations and original works published by JPS during this time still inform contemporary American Jewish culture and scholarship. A new Bible translation and the series of American Jewish Year Books that commenced publication in 1900 began to define the contours of a distinctive American Jewish intellectual world. After twenty-two years, Szold withdrew from JPS work in 1916 when a group of Zionists offered to provide her with an annuity in order to support her growing work for Hadassah.

Henrietta Szold was an incredible woman. If you don’t know anything about her, you really should check out her biography on the Jewish Women’s Archive.

-Naomi

american jewish history, women

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Feminism in the Weekly Parshah

Posted by Naomi in Jewish Knowledge on July 9, 2009

For the past few months, the team at G-dcast has been producing and broadcasting a weekly 4-minute cartoon about the parshah – the Torah portion read that week in synagogue. The G-dcasts are colorful, they’re creative, they’re an easy introduction to the parshah’s content, and – almost always – they raise insightful and thought-provoking questions posed by the text.

The parshah this week touches on one of my favorite vignettes in the entire Torah – the story of the daughters of Zelophehad (now, here is where I would normally recap that story for you myself, but I’ll let G-dcast do the work this time). I was curious to see how G-dcast would approach this material, and I really like the “spin” that they’ve put on the story. There is definitely a feminist undercurrent in this week’s parshah, and G-dcast has decided to run with it.

Parshat Pinchas from G-dcast.com

More Torah cartoons at www.g-dcast.com

-Naomi

education, technology, women

2 Comments

Maggie Anton’s Top 10 Books About Jewish Women

Posted by Naomi in JPS Books, Jewish Books on July 8, 2009

As a bibliophile, one of the biggest problems I always face is deciding what book to read next. There are thousands of possibilities – just walking into a bookstore, a library, or browsing Amazon.com can be overwhelming. Sometimes, the only good way to select a new book is by getting a recommendation – that way, you don’t experience information overload, and you know that someone you trust has declared the book tried and true.

What if you were able to get book recommendations from authors whose books you’ve read and loved? That’s a huge step up from just any old book recommendation – it’s an invitation to a guided tour of the author’s area of expertise! That’s certainly a real treat.

If the thought of getting book recommendations from great authors excites you, well, today’s your lucky day. I’ve invited a number of JPS authors to recommend a list of ten books, related to the subject matter they’ve written about themselves.

Mag Today I’m going to start by featuring JPS author Maggie Anton. When Anton began studying Talmud in 1992, she was introduced to the famous medieval Torah and Talmud commentator, Rashi. She became fascinated with the idea that Rashi had no sons, but instead had three daughters who, contrary to the conventions of the time, studied Jewish texts. So Anton embarked on a seven year intellectual journey, researching Rashi, his family, and the time in which they lived. Out of this research emerged Anton’s first three novels – Joheved, Miriam, and Rachel – which explore the lives of Rashi’s three daughters. Later, Anton penned a prequel about Rashi’s eldest daughter Jocheved. Aimed at teen and preteen girls, this novel was published by the Jewish Publication Society as Rashi’s Daughter, Secret Scholar. Anton’s many years of research on the lives of medieval Jewish women and deep interest in Jewish women’s issues make her the perfect person to kick off the JPS Blog Book Recommendation Series!

Maggie Anton’s Top 10 Books About Jewish Women

Fiction
1. The Rashi’s Daughters trilogy, by Maggie Anton [Joheved, Miriam, Rachel]
2. The Ghost of Hannah Mendes, by Naomi Ragen
3. He, She and It, by Marge Piercy [Anton’s “absolute favorite book”!]
4. The Triumph of Deborah, by Eva Etzioni-Halevy [Anton’s “choice for Biblical fiction”]