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Rashi’s Daughters #1
Joheved
The first novel 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 .
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 .
384 pages, Paperback
First published June 15, 2005
About the author
Maggie Anton
13 books276 followersMaggie Anton is an award-winning author of historical fiction, as well as a Talmud scholar with expertise in Jewish women’s history. She was born Margaret Antonofsky in Los Angeles, California, where she still resides. In 1992 she joined a women’s Talmud class taught by Rachel Adler. There, to her surprise, she fell in love with Talmud, a passion that has continued unabated for over thirty years. Intrigued that the great Jewish scholar Rashi had no sons, only daughters, she started researching the family and their community.
Thus the award-winning trilogy Rashi’s Daughters was born in 2004, to be followed by National Jewish Book Award finalist, Rav Hisda’s Daughter: Apprentice and its sequel, Enchantress. Then she switched to nonfiction in 2016, winning the Gold Ben Franklin Award in the religion category for Fifty Shades of Talmud: What the First Rabbis Had to Say about You-Know What, a lighthearted in-depth tour of sexuality within the Talmud. In 2022, she returned to fiction with the Independent Publishers’ Silver Award-winning The Choice: A Novel of Love, Faith, and the Talmud, a wholly transformative novel that takes characters inspired by Chaim Potok and ages them into young adults in 1950s Brooklyn. Her latest historical novel is The Midwives’ Escape: from Egypt to Jericho, which describes the Exodus from the point of view of an Egyptian mother and daughter who join the Hebrews to follow Moses to the Promised Land.
Since 2005, Anton has lectured about the research behind her books at hundreds of venues throughout North America, Europe, and Israel. She still studies women and Talmud, albeit mostly online at https://www.conservativeyeshiva.org/l.... You can follow her blog and contact her at her website, www.maggieanton.com. You can also find her on Facebook and Goodreads. And if you liked this book, please give it a nice review at all the usual websites. Maggie has been married to David Parkhurst, her books’ illustrator, since 1970. They have two children, six grandchildren, and one cat.
Thus the award-winning trilogy Rashi’s Daughters was born in 2004, to be followed by National Jewish Book Award finalist, Rav Hisda’s Daughter: Apprentice and its sequel, Enchantress. Then she switched to nonfiction in 2016, winning the Gold Ben Franklin Award in the religion category for Fifty Shades of Talmud: What the First Rabbis Had to Say about You-Know What, a lighthearted in-depth tour of sexuality within the Talmud. In 2022, she returned to fiction with the Independent Publishers’ Silver Award-winning The Choice: A Novel of Love, Faith, and the Talmud, a wholly transformative novel that takes characters inspired by Chaim Potok and ages them into young adults in 1950s Brooklyn. Her latest historical novel is The Midwives’ Escape: from Egypt to Jericho, which describes the Exodus from the point of view of an Egyptian mother and daughter who join the Hebrews to follow Moses to the Promised Land.
Since 2005, Anton has lectured about the research behind her books at hundreds of venues throughout North America, Europe, and Israel. She still studies women and Talmud, albeit mostly online at https://www.conservativeyeshiva.org/l.... You can follow her blog and contact her at her website, www.maggieanton.com. You can also find her on Facebook and Goodreads. And if you liked this book, please give it a nice review at all the usual websites. Maggie has been married to David Parkhurst, her books’ illustrator, since 1970. They have two children, six grandchildren, and one cat.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 331 reviews
October 11, 2012
I wanted to like this book, I really did.
Anton seeks to bring to life a place, time and people who have been overlooked. She obviously did a lot of research, and boy does it show! The book is crammed full of information on things like 11th century agriculture, French politics, and Jewish law, and tries to faithfully render to the most minute detail (moss used for toilet paper! how to prune grape vines! a demon for every cough and bad thought! ) what it would have been like to grow up the daughter of Rashi.
Every now and then there would be a glimmer of a good book – moments when the narrator shuts up long enough to take a breath and allows the characters to speak for themselves and have the “plot”, such as it is, move along with organic actions, conversations and thoughts.
But mostly all we get is a plodding journey of daily Jewish life in 11th century Troyes, with Anton shoehorning in tons of awkward scenes where Character A will explain, in detail, to Character B everything from wine making to Purim to prostitution to leather tanning to local politics, with both the character explaining something and then Anton adding in extra explanations to make sure we get that wine is an important export product in France.
What the book lacks is proper world building. You either have to throw reader and character straight into the deep end of the pool, or you do a slow layer by layer, build up, of what constitutes the world you are entering.
Anton does neither.
She grasps the reader firmly by the hand, as if expecting us to wander off like a toddler, and explains each and every detail, operation, feeling, event, and Thing of Important Historical Note, without a shred of trust that her reader can think for herself.
It would have been better, plot wise, if Rashi and his family had been side characters and the story focused on an outsider who gradually learned about their world. The problem with being noted for scholastic achievement, as Rashi and his whole family were, means they spend the whole book being, well, scholarly, and having characters spend most of the time sitting and reading books does not an exciting plot make.
I wanted to like this book, I really did.
November 20, 2021
Historical fiction of Jewish life and loves in medieval France
This is a book that came out in 2005, and so I had never read it, since my reading of books about Judaism, and religion and scripture in general -- mostly nonfiction at the beginning -- began a year or two later. Yet I dare say this is a source of Talmud learning that has reached as many as the official Jewish education programs -- especially the parts about women and the family.
The history is good. While reading about the generally peaceful lives, I became aware that hanging over the future was the first Crusade. I don't know how that is going to affect northern France (unless and until I proceed with the series), but I know some of the German Jewish centers that figure in the wider context of the book will be decimated. Not in this book though; that's later, around twenty years further into the future....
Also in the historical background is the 1077 showdown between the current Holy Roman Emperor and Pope Gregory VII over ecclesiastical versus secular power. Weaving that in is brilliant. In addition: mention of the rebellious nobility, increasingly unmanageable and committing banditry against each other and difficulty for the king. This, too, represents a foreshadowing of the Crusades: an opportunity to send rampaging knights eastward and siphon off their disruptive impact at home, while simultaneously getting them out of the king's hair. (Not unlike the US sending westward those men who couldn't acclimate themselves to peace after the civil war.)
The eleventh century finds a family of Jews making a living from their vineyards. There are even Jews who raise sheep while themselves living on the land as gentry. In this book, we meet no peddlers or moneylenders -- not yet. It was in the thirteenth century that the Church, lacking the authority to require Jews to tithe, removed them from the land and restricted their livelihoods, highlighting the "wandering Jew" motif and other negative roles for Jews that furnished narrative support for those decrees.
But none of that had happened as of the 1070s. Jews were allowed to work the land, to sell their produce near and far, and to study and follow their ways.
So we meet Rashi -- an acronym for Rabbi Salomon ben Isaac (Shlomo ha Yitzhaki), a rabbi who later will become famous for his teaching and commentary. And we meet his household, chiefly his daughters. He has just had to return permanently home from his study circle to run the winery his mother can no longer handle. We meet his household, in particular, his daughters.
Here the author's imagination and learning both come into play. The author has obviously learned so much that I thought she must have embarked on a formal course of study. But what she's acknowledging is lots of books and lots of independent study with lots of people.
And it shows, in a good way, as she works in these multiple details of life into the story without becoming didactic. She's a good writer and spins a good tale.
I like the characters, some of whom are real historical figures but who may get no more than a mention in the Talmud, so they all require the author's creative magic. Under her touch, they come alive, especially the title character of Book I, Joheved, oldest daughter of Salomon.
I found myself reading the "romantic" part in the second half of the book very fast, that is, the sexy part, to see what happens. Yet not sexy in exactly the same sense we usually mean: this is sanctified -- marital -- sex. Even that is not what we would expect from a stereotypical evangelical picture we may have in our heads, according to which "sanctified" sex might mean sex dedicated to procreation. No, this sex is sanctified in the sense of bringing joy and pleasure to the marital couple, as in our expression to make love. I appreciated the support for that ideal from within the extended family -- support for a good of prime importance to the couple, and to the family and overall community as well. So different from modern hush-hush attitudes and distinct from the erotic as dirty! This is an unusual and valuable aspect of the story.
As to the romance, will it drive off male readers? Maybe, but this is not Dara Horn's Eternal Life, which did have that effect on some. Men have enjoyed this book too, and, when I took a look at Goodreads reviews, the dividing line between those who like it and those who don't does not seem to fall between male and female readers.
My one quibble with this book is that the consciousness of the characters is essentially a modern consciousness. Yes, the content of consciousness is different (superstition, for example, or concerns over honor), but their consciousness is like ours. I mean that in an earlier time, people did not even feel that they owned themselves. I'm told a major shift took place a few centuries ago as a bourgeoisie developed and people owned things, including themselves. We imagine the way we experience ourselves is eternal, but it's not.
That is my quibble, and for a novel to get beyond it is exceedingly rare. This book is excellent historical fiction, and I think it is that to which the author aspired. It's a good book, a good series, and, I dare say, a classic.
4 1/2 stars rounded up. Highly recommended.
This is a book that came out in 2005, and so I had never read it, since my reading of books about Judaism, and religion and scripture in general -- mostly nonfiction at the beginning -- began a year or two later. Yet I dare say this is a source of Talmud learning that has reached as many as the official Jewish education programs -- especially the parts about women and the family.
The history is good. While reading about the generally peaceful lives, I became aware that hanging over the future was the first Crusade. I don't know how that is going to affect northern France (unless and until I proceed with the series), but I know some of the German Jewish centers that figure in the wider context of the book will be decimated. Not in this book though; that's later, around twenty years further into the future....
Also in the historical background is the 1077 showdown between the current Holy Roman Emperor and Pope Gregory VII over ecclesiastical versus secular power. Weaving that in is brilliant. In addition: mention of the rebellious nobility, increasingly unmanageable and committing banditry against each other and difficulty for the king. This, too, represents a foreshadowing of the Crusades: an opportunity to send rampaging knights eastward and siphon off their disruptive impact at home, while simultaneously getting them out of the king's hair. (Not unlike the US sending westward those men who couldn't acclimate themselves to peace after the civil war.)
The eleventh century finds a family of Jews making a living from their vineyards. There are even Jews who raise sheep while themselves living on the land as gentry. In this book, we meet no peddlers or moneylenders -- not yet. It was in the thirteenth century that the Church, lacking the authority to require Jews to tithe, removed them from the land and restricted their livelihoods, highlighting the "wandering Jew" motif and other negative roles for Jews that furnished narrative support for those decrees.
But none of that had happened as of the 1070s. Jews were allowed to work the land, to sell their produce near and far, and to study and follow their ways.
So we meet Rashi -- an acronym for Rabbi Salomon ben Isaac (Shlomo ha Yitzhaki), a rabbi who later will become famous for his teaching and commentary. And we meet his household, chiefly his daughters. He has just had to return permanently home from his study circle to run the winery his mother can no longer handle. We meet his household, in particular, his daughters.
Here the author's imagination and learning both come into play. The author has obviously learned so much that I thought she must have embarked on a formal course of study. But what she's acknowledging is lots of books and lots of independent study with lots of people.
And it shows, in a good way, as she works in these multiple details of life into the story without becoming didactic. She's a good writer and spins a good tale.
I like the characters, some of whom are real historical figures but who may get no more than a mention in the Talmud, so they all require the author's creative magic. Under her touch, they come alive, especially the title character of Book I, Joheved, oldest daughter of Salomon.
I found myself reading the "romantic" part in the second half of the book very fast, that is, the sexy part, to see what happens. Yet not sexy in exactly the same sense we usually mean: this is sanctified -- marital -- sex. Even that is not what we would expect from a stereotypical evangelical picture we may have in our heads, according to which "sanctified" sex might mean sex dedicated to procreation. No, this sex is sanctified in the sense of bringing joy and pleasure to the marital couple, as in our expression to make love. I appreciated the support for that ideal from within the extended family -- support for a good of prime importance to the couple, and to the family and overall community as well. So different from modern hush-hush attitudes and distinct from the erotic as dirty! This is an unusual and valuable aspect of the story.
As to the romance, will it drive off male readers? Maybe, but this is not Dara Horn's Eternal Life, which did have that effect on some. Men have enjoyed this book too, and, when I took a look at Goodreads reviews, the dividing line between those who like it and those who don't does not seem to fall between male and female readers.
My one quibble with this book is that the consciousness of the characters is essentially a modern consciousness. Yes, the content of consciousness is different (superstition, for example, or concerns over honor), but their consciousness is like ours. I mean that in an earlier time, people did not even feel that they owned themselves. I'm told a major shift took place a few centuries ago as a bourgeoisie developed and people owned things, including themselves. We imagine the way we experience ourselves is eternal, but it's not.
That is my quibble, and for a novel to get beyond it is exceedingly rare. This book is excellent historical fiction, and I think it is that to which the author aspired. It's a good book, a good series, and, I dare say, a classic.
4 1/2 stars rounded up. Highly recommended.
Read
February 14, 2016I read this whole series multiple times before joining GoodReads. Added for posterity.
January 20, 2016
This is as much a book about medieval Jewish scholarship as it is about Rashi's family; his family members seem to circle the Talmud, supporting characters to its central theme(s).
This is not to say that it wasn't incredibly fascinating to read regardless! I learned so much about Ashkenazi Jewry as well as general life in France during the High Middle Ages. Some of the rituals and tradtions presented I actually remembered from reading a more contemporary story (The Ritual Bath) - it's amazing that these things remain virtually the same over hundreds of years.
My favorite tale included in the narrative is a Hanukkah one, taking place during a time when the Greeks controlled life in Palestine around 165 BCE:
What a badass. She wasn't named in this novel, but Google tells me she was Judith, daughter of Yochanan Cohen Gadol. In honor of the deeds of their foremother, women refrain from work while the menorah lamp is lit.
Also, they used moss as toilet paper.
This is not to say that it wasn't incredibly fascinating to read regardless! I learned so much about Ashkenazi Jewry as well as general life in France during the High Middle Ages. Some of the rituals and tradtions presented I actually remembered from reading a more contemporary story (The Ritual Bath) - it's amazing that these things remain virtually the same over hundreds of years.
My favorite tale included in the narrative is a Hanukkah one, taking place during a time when the Greeks controlled life in Palestine around 165 BCE:
... a virgin about to married was required to first submit to the king. So when the high priest's daughter was betrothed, the Greek monarch demanded that she lie with him. She went to the king, fed him cheese until he was thirsty, and then gave him enough wine to make him drunk. Once he'd fallen asleep, she severed his head and brought it back to her father in Jerusalem. When the enemy general saw that his king was dead, he and his army fled.
What a badass. She wasn't named in this novel, but Google tells me she was Judith, daughter of Yochanan Cohen Gadol. In honor of the deeds of their foremother, women refrain from work while the menorah lamp is lit.
Also, they used moss as toilet paper.
May 18, 2014
I really liked the idea of this book. Unfortunately, it's deplorably excecuted and the narrative totaly fails.
For starters, each character has an identical personality - the same one as the ploddingly matter-of-fact narrator. Each incosequential conflict is promptly resolved with predicatble regularity. As for an actual plot to draw the story forward, there is none. The prose is brittle and earnest - it's just, eugh, awkward to read this. The only parts that actually work narratively are the sex scenes, which are porn-y medieval fantasies. The only engaging passages are those that directly quote and discuss talmudic texts that form the thematic and intellectual heart of the book.
I'm so sad that this book is terrible. There's so much good stuff in it. Putting authentic and well-researched talmudic debate into a story is a lot of fun (and the most successful part of the book). The concept of a feminine account around the life and family of the famous medieval rabbi Rashi is a great one (similar ideas have been attempted with varying sucess for Galileo's daughter, Mozart's sister, etc. - I'm sure there are more examples). Anton's research is obviously thorough, and the world she paints is well described. The medieval demonology and herbology are funny and interesting.
Despite the quality of Anton's raw material, she isn't a writer. I recommend that next time, she do the research, and find a writing partner with a deft hand.
For starters, each character has an identical personality - the same one as the ploddingly matter-of-fact narrator. Each incosequential conflict is promptly resolved with predicatble regularity. As for an actual plot to draw the story forward, there is none. The prose is brittle and earnest - it's just, eugh, awkward to read this. The only parts that actually work narratively are the sex scenes, which are porn-y medieval fantasies. The only engaging passages are those that directly quote and discuss talmudic texts that form the thematic and intellectual heart of the book.
I'm so sad that this book is terrible. There's so much good stuff in it. Putting authentic and well-researched talmudic debate into a story is a lot of fun (and the most successful part of the book). The concept of a feminine account around the life and family of the famous medieval rabbi Rashi is a great one (similar ideas have been attempted with varying sucess for Galileo's daughter, Mozart's sister, etc. - I'm sure there are more examples). Anton's research is obviously thorough, and the world she paints is well described. The medieval demonology and herbology are funny and interesting.
Despite the quality of Anton's raw material, she isn't a writer. I recommend that next time, she do the research, and find a writing partner with a deft hand.
December 30, 2020
This is my second reading of this book - and it looks like my first review, written over a decade ago, is lost. One thing I could say about reading this book ten years ago, maybe 15 or so, is that I got so swept up in it, that I quickly read the entire series, and went on from Rashi's three daughters to Rav Hisda's daughter, and read both that one, and the Enchantress, although when I picked it up, I had no idea that it was a sequel. The Enchantress remains one of my all time favorite books. And the threads of that were absolutely in this one that started it all.
Joheved is book one of the Rashi's Daughter's series. Born to Salomon ben Issac, later who became "Rashi", Rachel was the eldest of three daughters, who defied the 11th century times, by becoming both immersed and learned in Torah scholarship. This book takes place in a vinyard in France, as the family were vinters, and the growing tensions in France, particularly for Jews, are slowly becoming evident. If I remember, more about this becomes of issue, when Book Two, featuring the middle daughter becomes the central part of the story. It is interesting remembering pieces of Miriam's story, as I began the series again. Anyway, Joheved is a wonderful character. The book is really well researched and well written.
Why did I pick this up again? Well, because Elizabeth's mother recently read this for her book club, and thought it would be good for ours. So Elizabeth suggested it, and five of us are meeting on Zoom tonight to talk about it. Everyone else seemed to really like it as well. I did think the story was engaging, and I had I not read the series once before, I would have gone on to do it. But two things stood out to me to review. The first thing that I was most drawn to, elements that really come alive in the Enchantress, is the mystical part of our tradition. All of these things that are no longer known to us, to have been a part of what was commonly believed back then. Things like amulets, and inscriptions, and things that keep away demons. How the order or concurrence of orgasm would detail which gender of a baby would be born. Infertility or death by childbirth having to do with the mother not being as attentive to her spiritual obligations. Or healing and/or conception having magical forces be at play. There is a lot that is in there that is still the bare bones of our tradition, but so many mystical pieces gone, that have been replaced by science and a new way of thinking, as our consciousness has changed. But I loved those elements. Drank them in. I really felt wrapped in those, and that's the area that the Enchantress really explores. As a professional amulet maker, and designer of healing bowls, that character confers blessing and protection by the means of inscription, art, and prayer wrapped into one. This to me, has all the markings of themes that interweave predestination with our own strong wills and intentionality. Fate versus will, or the interweaving of the two is my favorite theme. So I loved these parts of the book, where the characters acted out of these mystical beliefs, and narrated their story by these concepts.
The second part, is that at least in the second half of the book, I found it really hot and sexy. I remember that the main heroic couple really loved each other passionately, even if they had a lot of stumbles and obstacles. But one just doesn't expect a very young inexperienced Orthodox couple to be so hot and sexy and passionate together. And it was both that tentativeness and their devotion to the bindings of faith, that in part fed into that level of passion. And of course the talent of the author, Maggie Anton, shined all the way through the book, but here it really had an impact. Dare I confess that I have never had such a reaction reading these type of scenes, and I did with this couple's growing relationship. And who would have thunk, that these characters would have done that for me? This heroine, couple, and family, and group of characters, really made you want to root for them, celebrate with them, grieve with them. It felt like despite the hardship of the 11th century, despite the disadvantages and disparities for women, it would be a place you would just sort of want to be. I really loved these characters and this family - and I will miss them, as the last pages close.
Joheved is book one of the Rashi's Daughter's series. Born to Salomon ben Issac, later who became "Rashi", Rachel was the eldest of three daughters, who defied the 11th century times, by becoming both immersed and learned in Torah scholarship. This book takes place in a vinyard in France, as the family were vinters, and the growing tensions in France, particularly for Jews, are slowly becoming evident. If I remember, more about this becomes of issue, when Book Two, featuring the middle daughter becomes the central part of the story. It is interesting remembering pieces of Miriam's story, as I began the series again. Anyway, Joheved is a wonderful character. The book is really well researched and well written.
Why did I pick this up again? Well, because Elizabeth's mother recently read this for her book club, and thought it would be good for ours. So Elizabeth suggested it, and five of us are meeting on Zoom tonight to talk about it. Everyone else seemed to really like it as well. I did think the story was engaging, and I had I not read the series once before, I would have gone on to do it. But two things stood out to me to review. The first thing that I was most drawn to, elements that really come alive in the Enchantress, is the mystical part of our tradition. All of these things that are no longer known to us, to have been a part of what was commonly believed back then. Things like amulets, and inscriptions, and things that keep away demons. How the order or concurrence of orgasm would detail which gender of a baby would be born. Infertility or death by childbirth having to do with the mother not being as attentive to her spiritual obligations. Or healing and/or conception having magical forces be at play. There is a lot that is in there that is still the bare bones of our tradition, but so many mystical pieces gone, that have been replaced by science and a new way of thinking, as our consciousness has changed. But I loved those elements. Drank them in. I really felt wrapped in those, and that's the area that the Enchantress really explores. As a professional amulet maker, and designer of healing bowls, that character confers blessing and protection by the means of inscription, art, and prayer wrapped into one. This to me, has all the markings of themes that interweave predestination with our own strong wills and intentionality. Fate versus will, or the interweaving of the two is my favorite theme. So I loved these parts of the book, where the characters acted out of these mystical beliefs, and narrated their story by these concepts.
The second part, is that at least in the second half of the book, I found it really hot and sexy. I remember that the main heroic couple really loved each other passionately, even if they had a lot of stumbles and obstacles. But one just doesn't expect a very young inexperienced Orthodox couple to be so hot and sexy and passionate together. And it was both that tentativeness and their devotion to the bindings of faith, that in part fed into that level of passion. And of course the talent of the author, Maggie Anton, shined all the way through the book, but here it really had an impact. Dare I confess that I have never had such a reaction reading these type of scenes, and I did with this couple's growing relationship. And who would have thunk, that these characters would have done that for me? This heroine, couple, and family, and group of characters, really made you want to root for them, celebrate with them, grieve with them. It felt like despite the hardship of the 11th century, despite the disadvantages and disparities for women, it would be a place you would just sort of want to be. I really loved these characters and this family - and I will miss them, as the last pages close.
December 5, 2019
I enjoyed this novel very much. The setting is before the printing press, about the time champagne was invented in France. Rashi was born there in 1040 and his family made wine. The author researched deeply about Judaism and about the era and about the history and she has authored a wonderful book. This period was the Dark Ages and superstition was rampant. The author has enriched the book with those practices. Illnesses were treated with superstition/prayers/placebos and herbal medicine/amulets/symbols. The author includes a short historical orienting timeline. About this time Pope Gregory decreed that priests could no longer marry. The rabbis decided that men should limit themselves to one wife and that fowl would be included among meats that could not be mixed with milk.
An example of one of the common legends was Lillit who was Adam's first wife. She was also made of earth and she insisted on equality with Adam. They fought and then she left him. Three angels were sent to bring her back, but she refused and the names of the three angels, Sanvi, Sansanvi, and Semangelaf, were chalked as a magical inscription on the doors and on the walls when a woman was in childbirth to protect from Lillit's vengence.
The printing press had not been invented yet, so education was uncommon, and it was especially uncommon for women. Rashi is a famous important Jewish scholar whose comments now line the inner columns of the Talmud and the comments of his grandsons and students line the outer columns. Rashi had no sons, and the author has written three books featuring Rashi's three daughters. William the Conqueror became King of England in 1066 and Rashi's first daughter Joheved was born in 1059, Rashi would have been nineteen. The Talmud says men should marry by age nineteen. His second daughter Miriam was born in 1062 and his youngest daughter Rachel was born in 1069. This Book One covers Rashi and his family and focuses on Joheved. It stops after Joheved has her first child and just before Miriam gets married.
The subtitle "A Novel of Love and the Talmud in Medieval France" is a good description of the book. There are many romantic and sexual passages and much about the Talmud Torah. The book was well written and flowed smoothly and kept my attention well. The characters seem real and accurate to me, so I definitely hope to read Book Two featuring Miriam and Book Three featuring Rachel soon.
An example of one of the common legends was Lillit who was Adam's first wife. She was also made of earth and she insisted on equality with Adam. They fought and then she left him. Three angels were sent to bring her back, but she refused and the names of the three angels, Sanvi, Sansanvi, and Semangelaf, were chalked as a magical inscription on the doors and on the walls when a woman was in childbirth to protect from Lillit's vengence.
The printing press had not been invented yet, so education was uncommon, and it was especially uncommon for women. Rashi is a famous important Jewish scholar whose comments now line the inner columns of the Talmud and the comments of his grandsons and students line the outer columns. Rashi had no sons, and the author has written three books featuring Rashi's three daughters. William the Conqueror became King of England in 1066 and Rashi's first daughter Joheved was born in 1059, Rashi would have been nineteen. The Talmud says men should marry by age nineteen. His second daughter Miriam was born in 1062 and his youngest daughter Rachel was born in 1069. This Book One covers Rashi and his family and focuses on Joheved. It stops after Joheved has her first child and just before Miriam gets married.
The subtitle "A Novel of Love and the Talmud in Medieval France" is a good description of the book. There are many romantic and sexual passages and much about the Talmud Torah. The book was well written and flowed smoothly and kept my attention well. The characters seem real and accurate to me, so I definitely hope to read Book Two featuring Miriam and Book Three featuring Rachel soon.
January 22, 2009
This book about the eldest daughter of the great Talmudic sage Rashi had such great reviews, I expected more. It was enjoyable and had interesting, even fascinating, information on medieval Jewish life; but it was, I thought, clumsily written. And what was with the sex scenes? I mean, I like a good reasonably explicit sex scene as much as the next person, and I'm sure that medieval Jewish folks liked their sex, but those scenes felt really out of place, as though they were dropped in just for the prurient interest. They were also among the worst-written in the book. (I had to check to make sure that Fabio wasn't on the cover ...) I was also disconcerted by the author's afterword in which she breezily acknowledged making up certain characters and facts because "it's fiction and I can write what I want." Well, sure you can, but I thought this was supposed to be about the real person who was Rashi's eldest daughter; I would have liked to know at the start the extent to which the book was a work of pure fiction. So will I read the rest of the series, about Rashi's other two daughters? Despite all my quarrels and quibbles, I might - medieval Jewry is fascinating. But if I do read the others, I won't buy them the way I bought this one, not even to support my local Jewish bookstore. This just wasn't a good enough book.
March 21, 2009
From a historical perspective, this book (as well as Anton's second book in this series) is fascinating. Anton has obviously done a great deal of research, and she has focused on making the world of medieval French Judaism come to life. However, there are two aspects that I want to focus on that detract significantly from this book, which had so much potential. One aspect is Anton's exposition, which is often very heavy-handed. I would have loved to have gotten lost in the world that Anton describes, but I couldn't because Anton kept interjecting explanations of what everything was in parentheses. I really would have appreciated it had she just put a glossary in at the end and kept her own explanations out of the characters' stories. The other aspect is that I'm left having very little idea what the main point of the plot actually was. The book seems strung together as a series of scenes. The scenes are very vivid and occasionally moving, and the picture of Jewish life that Anton presents is interesting, but as a complete work, it doesn't really seem to have a point.
February 2, 2017
I haven't been a reader of traditional romance novels since I was in high school, and a certain percentage of this book is in fact that. It conforms to a lot of your expected tropes of that genre.
I am, however, a reader these days of Jewish cultural history, and this book is also that. Specifically, it concerns the lives of women in France a thousand years ago, and the circumstances surrounding what it was like to be an educated daughter of a scholar at that time.
I found it fascinating and well done hybrid of history and the romance novel genre, and I enjoyed reading it far more than I expected. I read it on the recommendation of a friend, really just so we could discuss it and I didn't expect to love it as much as I did.
It's not without its problems, and if you come to it expecting just the romance portion of the program, you will get really impatient with the in-depth discussion of Talmudic scholarship.
Still though, if it sounds like it might be your bag, I'm here to tell you that it will be.
I am, however, a reader these days of Jewish cultural history, and this book is also that. Specifically, it concerns the lives of women in France a thousand years ago, and the circumstances surrounding what it was like to be an educated daughter of a scholar at that time.
I found it fascinating and well done hybrid of history and the romance novel genre, and I enjoyed reading it far more than I expected. I read it on the recommendation of a friend, really just so we could discuss it and I didn't expect to love it as much as I did.
It's not without its problems, and if you come to it expecting just the romance portion of the program, you will get really impatient with the in-depth discussion of Talmudic scholarship.
Still though, if it sounds like it might be your bag, I'm here to tell you that it will be.
May 14, 2013
This book was an amazing read. I learned so much, which is what I love about good historical fiction. There were so many times in this book that I thought to myself, so that's why we do that (in terms of Jewish traditions). I did find myself wondering as I was reading if a non-Jewish reader would have difficulty understanding it. The author is a female Talmud scholar herself, which I find so impressive, and it lends credence to the series. I can't wait to read the next book. In fact, I think I might have to buy all three books - I can see myself wanting to highlight things and refer back to them in the future.
September 28, 2012
A very sensitive story of a far from ordinary Jewish father and daughter. For those who want to understand why Jews study Talmud, this is a great place to begin.
May 27, 2019
Round up to 3.5 stars.
November 10, 2009
I don't read a lot of fiction books because they often fail to cast their spell on me. There are some books that are just impossible to read, and others that are pleasant reading but I can almost tell you exactly why the author did everything they did. This falls into the latter category. This book is more or less a formula copy of the Red Tent sent in a less heroic, darker, and more obscure era of Jewish history.
Diamant at least cast her spell. I felt like I knew Dinah. A quick check of the presumptuous reading group study questions in the back tell you all you need to know about this book. We're going to learn about an important historical Jewish female living in an era of relative tolerance between Christians and Jews. She is going to try and color in the lines with the characters while we learn a little bit about the place and time. Having said that, some of what appears to be purporting to be historical strikes me as inauthentic, particularly the fact that Rashi's family's Jewishness seems just the same as 19th and 20th century Ashkenazi.
Don't get me wrong. Anton obviously did meticulous research about Rashi's era, but the characters are unconflicted and we are told far more than we are shown about any of them.
You'd be better off reading a non-fiction biography of Rashi.
Diamant at least cast her spell. I felt like I knew Dinah. A quick check of the presumptuous reading group study questions in the back tell you all you need to know about this book. We're going to learn about an important historical Jewish female living in an era of relative tolerance between Christians and Jews. She is going to try and color in the lines with the characters while we learn a little bit about the place and time. Having said that, some of what appears to be purporting to be historical strikes me as inauthentic, particularly the fact that Rashi's family's Jewishness seems just the same as 19th and 20th century Ashkenazi.
Don't get me wrong. Anton obviously did meticulous research about Rashi's era, but the characters are unconflicted and we are told far more than we are shown about any of them.
You'd be better off reading a non-fiction biography of Rashi.
August 18, 2017
This was an odd book. The author clearly has researched the family and the era very well, but the end result isn't really a novel. There was no narrative arc – just lots of info about daily life (some things, like the making of parchment, appeared to be thrown in simply because the author had learned about it). Joheved didn’t seem like a real person (nor did Rashi, nor anyone else) and her motivation to study Torah like the men was never made clear – and the repercussions of her doing so seemed minor. About halfway through the book it occurred to me that perhaps this was meant to be a young adult novel, but when I looked it up, it seems the author has written both adult versions and young adult versions of the books in this series and this one is intended for adults. I am guessing it’s because the second half of the book dwells extensively on sexual issues. Again, the reason for spending so much time on this is unclear, and I got the feeling that all Joheved did was study Torah and think about sex. Quite bizarre.
April 25, 2008
Didn't like this one as much as I thought I would. I thought the style of writing was kind of annoying. I can't quite put my finger on it. I'll probably read the rest of the series though. It was entertaining enough. Interesting to learn about Jewish traditions as well.
Okay so an update. I finished this one and I just don't think I'll read the other's in the series.
The summary of the plot on the back of the book makes you think it is going to be all about how Joheved is going to fight for her right to learn the Talmud or chose her husband. Umm,no. Her husband is just fine with it and it is not like she really has to hide it from anyone. So I thought that was kind of dumb. Plus the author focuses WAY too much on the sexual relationship between Joheved and her husband. Makes it into more of a romance novel and the kind I stay away from.
Okay so an update. I finished this one and I just don't think I'll read the other's in the series.
The summary of the plot on the back of the book makes you think it is going to be all about how Joheved is going to fight for her right to learn the Talmud or chose her husband. Umm,no. Her husband is just fine with it and it is not like she really has to hide it from anyone. So I thought that was kind of dumb. Plus the author focuses WAY too much on the sexual relationship between Joheved and her husband. Makes it into more of a romance novel and the kind I stay away from.
May 22, 2010
I'd say 3.5
I enjoyed the book but there was a bit too much graphic Talmudic sex. Also, I was constantly noticing the religious practices that are different from today's and wondering if they really were different in those days or if the author just isn't aware of normative Orthodox practice. For instance, mixed dancing at a wedding, men sitting around chatting with each other while waiting for their wives at the mikva and later discussing who was there, women attending weekday Shacharit services on a regular basis, etc. It would have been interesting to know which was the case.
Still, it was a good read and will appeal to those interested in historical fiction.
I enjoyed the book but there was a bit too much graphic Talmudic sex. Also, I was constantly noticing the religious practices that are different from today's and wondering if they really were different in those days or if the author just isn't aware of normative Orthodox practice. For instance, mixed dancing at a wedding, men sitting around chatting with each other while waiting for their wives at the mikva and later discussing who was there, women attending weekday Shacharit services on a regular basis, etc. It would have been interesting to know which was the case.
Still, it was a good read and will appeal to those interested in historical fiction.
January 11, 2010
I absolutely loved this book. So much so that I could not put it down and went straight into reading the next in the series. I will certainly read all 3. I have prior knowledge of orthodox Judaism and Torah/Talmud that made it easier for me to understand the lingo (however there is a glossary). The author does a fantastic job of developing the characters, so much so that I felt I could actually see them and understand their feelings. I greatly look forward to the next book, I am already several pages in to it and am shocked at the turn of events.
July 24, 2023
I LOVED this book. it literally inspired a religious fervor in me that has only been further reignited by the sequel. Even to the non-Jewish reader, this book offers a beautiful insight into the life of a woman in history and how she may have carved out space to be intelligent and strong.
September 2, 2013
Usually I'm not a huge historical fiction person. I often find my my purist tendencies get in the way of my enjoyment of historical fiction. Rashi's Daughters came highly recommended to me by a close friend from my synagogue. It shared a lot of similarities, at least in voice, to Anita Diamant's "The Red Tent". It had engaging relationships between the characters and even though it's from Joheved's perspective, for the most part, others in the story are well rounded.
One thing I feel that engaging historical fiction can do is challenge our perceptions and lead us to learn more. Due to my upbringing and the Jewish literature I'd read, I tended to always assume overt poverty and/or persecution of Jews, particularly in Medieval periods. I found myself wanting to learn more about this section of Jewish history. Too often I get so wrapped up in the trauma of the Inquisition that I miss a very rich and interesting history. It also made me want to read more of Rashi's work, though I think I'm going to need some help with that! I'm not a Torah scholar by any stretch of the imagination but I thought the discussion of the Talmud and Torah rang true and raised interesting points. When I think about other historical fictions that i've enjoyed, they've often been ones with well rounded characters who increase my desire to learn more about a time period.
This book also tugged at my heart strings when I read the relationship between Joheved and her father, the famous Rashi. It reminded me of my own relationship with my father, who taught Hebrew school for many years. Too often in novels where there are only daughters, it's tempting to paint the angst of a father in depth. It's easy, especially when looking historically, to paint a picture of a father who grudgingly acknowledges his daughters' intelligence but to insert a romantic interest who easily loves the clever heroine (sometimes this man is the one who makes the father see his daughter for what she is). I was glad this wasn't so in "Rashi's Daughters". Another issue in many works is that the female character has clearly divided loyalties, meaning that she cannot be a daughter and a wife or a wife and a mother. Again, Anton skillfully avoids this troupe. The conflict comes from events, but there is none of the artificial relationship drama borne of horrible "misunderstandings" to shoehorn the happy characters into misery. Any conflict feels real.
Lastly, I loved the emphasis on the women's service as Joheved gets older. It's common to have female characters in a more traditional setting long to be men but Joheved never seems to lament being a woman. She takes pride in her role and openly admires her learned grandmother Leah. There's also a real spirit of cooperation between the sisters. The story doesn't fall into the pitfall of pitting the smart sister against a pretty sister. They admire each others gifts and don't seem to focus so much on appearance (which fits with the modesty obligations). The Miriam I saw in "Joheved" made me excited to read the next book "Miriam" and get to know her as well.
One thing I feel that engaging historical fiction can do is challenge our perceptions and lead us to learn more. Due to my upbringing and the Jewish literature I'd read, I tended to always assume overt poverty and/or persecution of Jews, particularly in Medieval periods. I found myself wanting to learn more about this section of Jewish history. Too often I get so wrapped up in the trauma of the Inquisition that I miss a very rich and interesting history. It also made me want to read more of Rashi's work, though I think I'm going to need some help with that! I'm not a Torah scholar by any stretch of the imagination but I thought the discussion of the Talmud and Torah rang true and raised interesting points. When I think about other historical fictions that i've enjoyed, they've often been ones with well rounded characters who increase my desire to learn more about a time period.
This book also tugged at my heart strings when I read the relationship between Joheved and her father, the famous Rashi. It reminded me of my own relationship with my father, who taught Hebrew school for many years. Too often in novels where there are only daughters, it's tempting to paint the angst of a father in depth. It's easy, especially when looking historically, to paint a picture of a father who grudgingly acknowledges his daughters' intelligence but to insert a romantic interest who easily loves the clever heroine (sometimes this man is the one who makes the father see his daughter for what she is). I was glad this wasn't so in "Rashi's Daughters". Another issue in many works is that the female character has clearly divided loyalties, meaning that she cannot be a daughter and a wife or a wife and a mother. Again, Anton skillfully avoids this troupe. The conflict comes from events, but there is none of the artificial relationship drama borne of horrible "misunderstandings" to shoehorn the happy characters into misery. Any conflict feels real.
Lastly, I loved the emphasis on the women's service as Joheved gets older. It's common to have female characters in a more traditional setting long to be men but Joheved never seems to lament being a woman. She takes pride in her role and openly admires her learned grandmother Leah. There's also a real spirit of cooperation between the sisters. The story doesn't fall into the pitfall of pitting the smart sister against a pretty sister. They admire each others gifts and don't seem to focus so much on appearance (which fits with the modesty obligations). The Miriam I saw in "Joheved" made me excited to read the next book "Miriam" and get to know her as well.
August 23, 2012
Wtf!?!? Jews like to drink? This book was sure an interesting surprise to me that way. Hmmmm I grew up with an alcoholic father but imagine growing up with a Jewish wine-making father in medieval France. That's Rashi's daughters for you. The central theme here seems to be education for women...
It was touchy subject at the time with many interpretations of what was appropriate and what was not. In the beginning of the book Joheved is already fluent in Hebrew and is able to read, study, and translate the torah: this makes her one of the most educated Jewish women in the city, and her father very liberal in his daughters' education however he goes even farther into controversy by teaching them the highly risqué Talmud generally considered to teach women lewdness and immorality (tiflut as they call it) threatening their femmine duties like bearing healthy sons. They study many different kuntres and Midrash texts unknown to women through out their education making them very vulnerable but genuine pioneers of women's rights and liberation, passing down a legacy all the way from medieval France.
Talking about women's education in the early medieval period clearly brings another book I read this year to mind and that is Pope Joan. There are many similarities in these books centred on the censers and barriers to women having an education. Yet the differences are also a fascinating comparison, especially since the biggest difference is one is Jewish and the other is Christian. Joan defiantly had to struggle more for her education because unlike Joheved, her father, the church's canon was strongly averse to her learning, while Joheved rabbi father encouraged her. Both women characters had to deal with the conflict of romantic love and their education, Joheved was lucky to eventually find compatibility between the two, while Joan always had to choose either one or the other. The conation of the difference of religion really shades some history question here for me.... Either way the book, and especially with it's comparison to Pope Joan (which I suggest if you liked this book you pick it up too), is very thought-provoking and well worth reading.
It was touchy subject at the time with many interpretations of what was appropriate and what was not. In the beginning of the book Joheved is already fluent in Hebrew and is able to read, study, and translate the torah: this makes her one of the most educated Jewish women in the city, and her father very liberal in his daughters' education however he goes even farther into controversy by teaching them the highly risqué Talmud generally considered to teach women lewdness and immorality (tiflut as they call it) threatening their femmine duties like bearing healthy sons. They study many different kuntres and Midrash texts unknown to women through out their education making them very vulnerable but genuine pioneers of women's rights and liberation, passing down a legacy all the way from medieval France.
Talking about women's education in the early medieval period clearly brings another book I read this year to mind and that is Pope Joan. There are many similarities in these books centred on the censers and barriers to women having an education. Yet the differences are also a fascinating comparison, especially since the biggest difference is one is Jewish and the other is Christian. Joan defiantly had to struggle more for her education because unlike Joheved, her father, the church's canon was strongly averse to her learning, while Joheved rabbi father encouraged her. Both women characters had to deal with the conflict of romantic love and their education, Joheved was lucky to eventually find compatibility between the two, while Joan always had to choose either one or the other. The conation of the difference of religion really shades some history question here for me.... Either way the book, and especially with it's comparison to Pope Joan (which I suggest if you liked this book you pick it up too), is very thought-provoking and well worth reading.
August 16, 2015
I enjoyed this novel much more than I expected to. Historical fiction often bogs down in the middle as the author tries to cram in a lot of the background research and it often shows. In this case, I had been afraid Anton would get involved in the powerstruggle in mideval France and leave me behind, but fortunately it didn't happen. Instead, we are given an insider's view into the creation of a small yeshiva, and the impact on a family of daughters whose father decides it's all right to teach them Torah. I was strongly reminded of Teresa de Avila, grandchild of Jews, who came under scrutiny by the Santo Oficio because if that weren't enough, she could also read and write and was a mystic. Most people were illiterate in those days, never mind women.
The primary thread in the story is Joheved and Miriam's growing to maturity and marriageable age, and the importance of sex/childbearing in marriage. At no time is Joheved's age mentioned, but she is prepubescent when the story starts; it's worth bearing in mind that in the Middle Ages most people didn't live past their forties or so. Talk about a youth-based society! Miriam is training to be a midwife (of course) while Joheved really just wants to study. Her arranged marriage turns out better than she hoped.
I learned a great deal about mideval Judaism, its culture, customs and superstitions. Gentiles of the time were just as superstitious if not more so, as I know from my reading of sources of the time. In a prologue the author mentions the intensive research done for the book, and yet it doesn't feel "carted in" as so often happens.The only thing lacking was a satisfying, rounded ending, but then of course there are 3 other novels in the series. But having read it in three sessions in spite of the page count, I really am not complaining. The author can write grammatically correct English as well, which is more than I can say for many of the popular "historical fiction" writers I've come across in the past few years.
The primary thread in the story is Joheved and Miriam's growing to maturity and marriageable age, and the importance of sex/childbearing in marriage. At no time is Joheved's age mentioned, but she is prepubescent when the story starts; it's worth bearing in mind that in the Middle Ages most people didn't live past their forties or so. Talk about a youth-based society! Miriam is training to be a midwife (of course) while Joheved really just wants to study. Her arranged marriage turns out better than she hoped.
I learned a great deal about mideval Judaism, its culture, customs and superstitions. Gentiles of the time were just as superstitious if not more so, as I know from my reading of sources of the time. In a prologue the author mentions the intensive research done for the book, and yet it doesn't feel "carted in" as so often happens.The only thing lacking was a satisfying, rounded ending, but then of course there are 3 other novels in the series. But having read it in three sessions in spite of the page count, I really am not complaining. The author can write grammatically correct English as well, which is more than I can say for many of the popular "historical fiction" writers I've come across in the past few years.
July 18, 2011
Set in Medieval France in the 1000s, this book is a fiction love story about Rashi's eldest daughter, who the author calls Joheved. Salomen ben Isaac, known as Rashi, is the most famous Jewish commentator of the Bible and Talmud. I usually find romance novels rather dull because they tend to all tell the same story, but this book successfully combines wonderful historical fiction about Rashi and the Jewish religion in France in the middle ages and the lifestyle of the people along with the romance story.
There are some interesting religious facts woven into this story. For instance, I found it interesting that when the Joheved, and her sister Miriam were betrothed, they were considered married, although they were too young to marry at the time and did not actually marry their husbands for a year or longer after the betrothals. I have heard that was the custom also in Biblical days and so, Joseph and Mary were really considered to be married once they were betrothed even though they had not had a wedding yet.
There are other interesting characters and plots in this book as well and I really enjoyed it very much.
I want to read the other two books in this series, but my public library does not have them. I am going to see if they can get them on an inter-library loan.
There are some interesting religious facts woven into this story. For instance, I found it interesting that when the Joheved, and her sister Miriam were betrothed, they were considered married, although they were too young to marry at the time and did not actually marry their husbands for a year or longer after the betrothals. I have heard that was the custom also in Biblical days and so, Joseph and Mary were really considered to be married once they were betrothed even though they had not had a wedding yet.
There are other interesting characters and plots in this book as well and I really enjoyed it very much.
I want to read the other two books in this series, but my public library does not have them. I am going to see if they can get them on an inter-library loan.
November 1, 2013
Jewish history and traditions have always fascinated me; so this book was right up my alley. It is about Salomon Ben Isaac, now known as Rashi. He lived about 1068 in France. He was a scholar who left his studies to take over the family winemaking business. Rashi was the first scholar to write a commentary on the Talmud, and is the recognized authority on the Talmud. During the period when he lived the Jews and Christians were at peace, each community living mostly to themselves except for some trade. That was interesting to me because I've always thought of the Jews as perpetually tormented for their beliefs. Because Salomon has only daughters, he agrees to teach them the Talmud even though it is thought of as forbidden to females. This Book One: Joheved is mostly about her, his oldest daughter and somewhat deals with Miriam, the slightly younger, who studies also. The reader learns so much about a Jewish household, birthing of babies, marriage customs and even how the Jewish approach the marriage bed. There is also a great deal about care of a vineyard and winemaking. The entire Jewish household is run by the Jewish year and different holy days. I really enjoyed the book. It is quite readable. Maggie Anton brings these Jewish daughters to life and makes history live.
November 18, 2015
I read this book for the A Book A Day Keeps the Boredom at Bay challenge. 27– Is the perfect cube (3 X 3 X 3). Read a book from 3 different trilogies - yes, that means 3 books - Or read a book about a mathematic riddle or code, books like The Da Vinci Code or The Eight are a good example for this one. (2/3)
I enjoyed this book very much, although I really don't think there was much of a plot to it. Basically, it describes a Jewish family in 11th century France - daily life, jobs, schools, superstitions and beliefs, etc. I felt immersed in their world while reading this. I didn't really relate much to any of the characters or sympathize with them at all, as they all seemed fairly two dimensional, but the historical research that had to have been done to write this book is really impressive. As long as you're not looking for a strong plot and instead are content with falling into 11th century French Jewish life, this is a great read.
I enjoyed this book very much, although I really don't think there was much of a plot to it. Basically, it describes a Jewish family in 11th century France - daily life, jobs, schools, superstitions and beliefs, etc. I felt immersed in their world while reading this. I didn't really relate much to any of the characters or sympathize with them at all, as they all seemed fairly two dimensional, but the historical research that had to have been done to write this book is really impressive. As long as you're not looking for a strong plot and instead are content with falling into 11th century French Jewish life, this is a great read.
April 29, 2009
Both of these books (Rashi's Daughters, Book I & Book II) are entertaining and thought provoking. Throughout both books are many quotations from the Torah and various comments on the quotations, including Rashi's. I found this helpful as I have often wondered about the source of those studied today. Another aspect of these books that I enjoyed was the explanation of many of the superstitions that we find in our current cultures. Although I had to stop sometimes to figure out which parts of the novels were truly historical and which were fictional, I found both hard to put down. I immediately went looking for the book about the 3rd daughter (Rachel) but it will not be released until August 25th. So....stay tuned!
January 9, 2010
I really enjoyed this book and read it pretty quickly.
I felt that it may be difficult for people not familiar with the Jewish religion to understand a lot of what was going on - how the lives revolved around study, the religious concepts - or even the prevalence of superstitions.
and....
I thought the suspense of the book would revolve around whether or not a learned woman would find a husband or not, but once that was resolved, it was an interesting read --- but I didn't know what for. I kept waiting for something bad or traumatic to happen to fuel the story line. It was still good - but not tons of suspense.
I felt that it may be difficult for people not familiar with the Jewish religion to understand a lot of what was going on - how the lives revolved around study, the religious concepts - or even the prevalence of superstitions.
and....
I thought the suspense of the book would revolve around whether or not a learned woman would find a husband or not, but once that was resolved, it was an interesting read --- but I didn't know what for. I kept waiting for something bad or traumatic to happen to fuel the story line. It was still good - but not tons of suspense.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 18, 2012
By far, it is one of the best historical novels I've read in a long time. Actually, it is the kind of story that I started in the morning and finished a couple of hours later in the night, due to the author's fascinating art of writing. As a reader, you are part not only of the life story of the oldest Rashi's daughter, Joheved, but also of the Medieval Jewish France and of the daily life of Rashi himself. The merit of the story is that you can go far beyond the circumstances of the reality and you enter the particular universe created by the author. Now, I am looking curiously forward to read the next two volumes of the trilogy!
November 3, 2009
3.5 stars. I enjoyed this book. I'm not sure I enjoyed it enough to run right out and find the next two books in the series, but I'll probably pick them up sometime. It's set in 11th century France, in a Jewish community. I liked how much I learned about the Jewish culture/faith. I certainly know more about Jewish marital intimacy than I did a few days ago! It's discussed rather a lot, but most of it is not explicit. Very interesting.
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August 14, 2014A carefully researched and very interesting historical novel about a medieval Jewish scholar of France called Rashi and his precocious daughter Joheved, whom he educated well above the religious norms of the era. This book elicited rich discussion about medieval Jewry and was educational on many levels for everyone. There is nothing controversial about this book; however, there is very frank discussion of sexual activity.
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