People of the Book Challenge - Discover and Share a Gem from the BHC Library

WHAT'S IN THE BHC LIBRARY?

The BHC Library is an underused resource, rich with books donated by members. It has been lovingly maintained by Alice Dreier, Dorothy Goldstone, and most recently by Debbie Simon and Jay Johnson and Lynn and Yitzhak Alster. The updated library is worthy of everyone’s attention.

This high holiday season, take a book, any book, and show it some love by looking at it, even reading it. Once we get into winter, we will meet occasionally to share impressions from our chosen books. Don’t be shy; feel free to explore more than one!

Learn more about the challenge; contact Jacki Katzman or Debbie Simon here.

Lynn Alster took up the challenge and reports on “Rav Hisda’s Daughter”

Rav Hisda's Daughter" is by Maggie Anton, who is a best selling author who also wrote a popular trilogy about Rashi's daughters.  Anton picks up  historical figures from the Gemorrah and other ancient sources, as well as quotes and illustrations that those folks established in the sources, and imagines how those figures interacted within their historical context at the time.  In this book, she brings to life the world of the Talmud, during the period of its development in Babylon and in Israel, as well as the commencement of Rabbinical Judaism.   It is well researched and delightful to read, as she embellishes the personal confrontations and struggles of the Rabbis, their students, and their families.  Anton also details Jewish practices of amulets, magic and witchcraft which was an eye opener for myself as a reader.