Maggie AntonRashi's Daughters, Book I: Joheved: A Novel of Love and the Talmud in Medieval France (Rashi's Daughters Series)

Having recently completed an introductory course to reading Talmud, much of what I learned I found in this book. The book gives a glimpse into life for Jews at that time and how Talmudic scholars rendered opinion. The story was well written and had me cheering for the characters

This novel is an excellent encapsulation of Jewish thought. For non-Jews who might be tempted to think that Judaism is just Christianity without Jesus, for literate Jews who have not studied Talmud and want to know what it's all about, and for anyone who wants to understand the evolution of Jewish intellectual history and observation practices, this book is recommended reading.Traditional Jewish Bible scholars weren't merely engaged in hermeneutics -- they were also part lawyer and part judge. And women in traditional Judaism took a strong role in business and commerce because the ideal man was a Torah scholar.Jocheved wants to study Talmud, but Anton did not simply take a woman from 2004 and stick her into 1070 like an extra candle on a birthday cake. Jocheved is not a modern woman ahead of her time, she is a woman of 1070, with all that that implies about worldview.I gave the book four stars and not five because although Anton does in an afterward indicate which characters are fictional and roughly summarizes what's true and what's not, she does not go far enough in that regard. She does give the cites for the passages of Talmud that she uses. And her explications of Talmud are concise and approachable. It's interesting that they use moss in a privy, and it's interesting that they hung their clothes on poles. I'd like to see more of this kind of thing. It would be interesting to see, since she's planning a sequel, what she might come up with if she consulted discarded parchments from old synagogues, old coroner's records, and any business communications from the time that are still extant. Maybe she did consult these things, but she quotes from the Talmud -- I'd love to see quotes from these other sources because it would allow the reader to know how much is fact and how much is fiction.Connie Willis in the Domesday Book accomplishes this very well. Or perhaps it's that there are a lot of written sources about 1348 and the plague, and after quoting Agnolo di Tura, a lot less needs to be said: Father abandoned child, wife husband, one brother another; for this illness seemed to strike through the breath and sight. And so they died. And none could be found to bury the dead for money or friendship. Members of a household brought their dead to a ditch as best they could, without priest, without divine offices ... great pits were dug and piled deep with the multitude of dead. And they died by the hundreds both day and night... And as soon as those ditches were filled more were dug ... And I, Agnolo di Tura, called the Fat, buried my five children with my own hands. And there were also those who were so sparsely covered with earth that the dogs dragged them forth and devoured many bodies throughout the city. There was no one who wept for any death, for all awaited death. And so many died that all believed it was the end of the world.As far as plot in Rashi's Daughters, there is very little conflict and suspense. The book is not a thriller or a romance in the strict sense of the term, but these are selling points. "Will Jocheved convince Meir that she can study Talmud and still be a Real Woman?" would make it a tiresome formulaic romance, not an historical novel. I'm glad there are no heaving bodices, or ripping bodices, or whatever bodices are supposed to do. Instead the real questions are, "How does this family survive?" and "How do other families survive?" and "What obstacles are there to survival in this Jewish community?"To the extent that ordinary events happen to these extraordinary intellects, that is a plus, because it allows the reader to concentrate on the intellectual events of the day.Some people may be put off by the graphic sexual passages, but they aren't stuck in there for prurience's sake: they demonstrate Jewish attitudes toward marital sex, toward men and women, that are extant today, and not merely in 1070. The fact that mainstream traditional Judaism puts such a high premium on passion between married couples -- and not just for procreation -- is an important intellectual and religious distinction (and a surprising one, for folks who have been brought up to believe that religion is repressive to sexuality).

This is the first book of the Rashi's Daughters trilogy. I found this book after reading Rav Hista's Daughter because of my thirst and love of study of Torah and Talmud. The author does a fabulous job of weaving her Torah and Talmud knowledge into a tapestry of exceptional read. Although some of it is the author's imagination, it seems very real and superbly-researched... especially in Torah and Talmud scholarship! Anyone familiar with Rashi as a commentator on the Torah would find this book most enjoyable! I highly recommend it!

What an interesting book, dealing with the famous Writer of commentary and his family. Terrific insight into what life might have been like for the daughters of this illustrious man and the community of Troyes , France. in the year 1069 CE. the author leads us through daily life and the way that the students in a yeshiva were taught and how Rashi might have inspired his daughters to learn Talmud and Torah.We also learn about the making of kosher wine and how sheepskins were cured for writing.It also includes history of the Church at that time and King of France.A great read.

I would rank Rashi's Daughters with Milton Steinberg's As a Driven Leaf or Donna Cross' Pope Joan as engaging stories of historical figures living in ages past, whose lives were, in important ways, at odds with the prevailing expectations of their day.In Rashi's Daughters, we learn about life in the Champaigne country of 11th Century France -- and Jewish life in particular -- through the lives of a young woman who, while bound by the conventions of her day, was able to use her great intelligence and abilities to a remarkable extent.This was a golden age of Jewish scholarship, and Rashi was a leading light. This was also a great center of the French wine growing industry. How many great scholars today know how to tend vinyards and make wine? To learn something of daily life in Troyes, France, to learn something of Talmud with references to Worms and Mayence (Mainz), important seats of Jewish learning, and to learn so much about viticulture and winemaking to boot in the context of a page-turner of a story was a joy! Ms. Anton has given us a great gift in this book!

Maggie,Thank you so much for the wonderful trilogy of Rashi's Daughters. I have read the first two and am anxiously awaiting arrival of the third book. My background: I have been a male nurse for over 30 years, have many Jewish friends and I am Catholic. Your books have provided me a greater understanding of the beautiful Jewish faith. Without appearing vain, in our discussion my Jewish friends have been impressed with my knowledge of holidays, Torah, Talmud, and various interpretations of each. On some occasions I have even been able to answer their questions! We have a wonderful tradition of at each meeting taking time to discuss and debate elements of Torah and Talmud. Some were concerned or confused that I might be violating my faith and I explained that as children of Abraham we also embrace and hold sacred all Torah. We have agreed that it is profitable to discuss and debate what we share and embrace in common, rather than to argue differences. I thank you for the wonderful books you have written which not only cover the religious aspects but also the social, political, economic, and cultural ones as well. Of course I study Scripture as well but your books have brought to life the seasons of both faith and life in a manner that has allowed me to retain and understand as opposed to mere rote memorization of facts.Baruch atah Adonai ha-po-race sukkat shalom a-leynu v'al-kol a-mo yisrael v'al YerushalayimShalom,Donald

I have loved this peaceful novel based on real characters set in Troyes, France from 1068 on!The first of a trilogy (I quickly bought the next two books!), this novel has fascinated me and did me a lot of good in those turbulent days. Maggie Anton tells the story of one of the most famous Jewish scholars, Salomon Rashi, with each book focussing on each of his daughters. In a time before antisemitism in medieval France, Rashi educates his daughters in the study of Talmud. This was very unusual as women were not supposed to be better educated than their husbands.... I particularly enjoyed reading about the Talmud study and discussions, a very interesting philosophy! I was also amazed at how much it covers daily life up to sexuality, childbirth in great details! Combined with superstitious traditions typical of those times, it made a wonderful, captivating and soooo interesting read! The author stayed as close as possible to what we know about Rashi and his family. Highly recommended! 5*

Enjoyable and well written book. A lot of interesting facts on life during the 11th Century. A lovely book well worth it

Like many non-Jews, I was first exposed to Rashi's commentaries when I read Chaim Potok's THE CHOSEN as a teenager. Recently, I found a copy of Potok's novel in a charity shop and decided to re-read it. When I ordered a copy of its sequel from Amazon, Joheved was recommended to me during the ordering process.What a book! I am not a great reader of historical fiction, but Joheved succeeds in weaving the fascinating details of the period (medieval France) into the story, and so never subjects the reader to tedious blocks of world-building or information dumps. The novel is a little jewel box of speculation...what might it have been like to grow up the daughter of Rashi, who had no sons?As mentioned by other reviewers, this book contains explicit scenes (within marriage), but they are used in the aid of the story and also serve to answer some of the questions that the secular world might have about "orthodox" attitudes to intimacy. Nevertheless, this one - despite being a coming of age story - is definitely for adults only.

Ich hätte dem Buch gerne 5 Sterne gegeben, doch hat die doch ausführliche erotische Darstellung (auch wenn sie durch Talmud Zitate untermauert wurde) das Ganze etwas abgeschwächt, deshalb nur 4.7. Sonst findet sich hier ein wirklich gelungener Auftakt zu einer hoffentlich exzellenten Serie, viel Period-Detail, bunt, komplex und gut recherchiert, man erfährt etwas über das Wein-Machen, wie Champagner entsteht und die jüdische Lebensart. Wirklich gelungen. Ich freue mich auf den 2. Teil.

Valeur informative assez moyenne; l'auteur élabore beaucoup trop certains passages de cette 'love-story' ou pour ajouter une 'note piquante' à l'histoire, ce qui devient gênant à certains moments. Les références au contexte historique (politique) sont sommaires et assez confuses. Le peu d'information concernant le travail de Rachi est principalement axé sur le thème des relations maritales ou sexuelles tandis que son oeuvre est tellement plus riche et vaste. N'achêterai pas le second volume.