A Bride for One Night

Talmud Tales

Ruth Calderon author Ilana Kurshan translator

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Jewish Publication Society

Published:1st Mar '14

Should be back in stock very soon

A Bride for One Night cover

"Heartfelt, philosophical, imaginative, and religious, these stories offer new ways to read text."—Sharon Elswit, Jewish Book Council

Breathing new life into an ancient text, A Bride for One Night offers a surprising and provocative read, both for anyone already intimate with the Talmud or for anyone interested in one of the most influential works of Jewish literature.

Ruth Calderon has recently electrified the Jewish world with her teachings of talmudic texts. In this volume, her first to appear in English, she offers a fascinating window into some of the liveliest and most colorful stories in the Talmud. Calderon rewrites talmudic tales as richly imagined fictions, drawing us into the lives of such characters as the woman who risks her life for a sister suspected of adultery; a humble schoolteacher who rescues his village from drought; and a wife who dresses as a prostitute to seduce her pious husband in their garden.

"A Bride for One Night highlights Ruth Calderon's remarkable skill in bridging the cultural gap between the rabbis and contemporary readers and the significant contribution she has made to demonstrating the relevance of rabbinic legends in the 21st century."—David C. Jacobson, Jewish Review of Books
"Dr. Calderon's A Bride for One Night takes seventeen short sugyot (sections) of Talmudic texts, translates them and comments on them from the standpoint of a teacher and scholar.  What makes this book so useful to a beginner, is that Calderon then writes an imaginative retelling of the text, a reflection that gets at the subtext of the tale and the issues that are driving it. One could not ask for a better introduction to Talmud study."—Beth Kissileff, Wisdom Daily
"A welcome step in encouraging Jews of all stripes to engage with texts that hold values we wish to live by, and to find those values there."—Beth Kissileff, Tablet Magazine
"Calderon has indeed realized her goal to teach and to promulgate the creative cultural traditions of the Talmud."—CJ magazine
"Calderon's interpretation of classic Talmudic literature is like a breath of fresh spring air clearing out the cobwebs and is sure to be enjoyed by scholars and anyone interested in learning more about the rich Jewish heritage."—Sandy Amazeen, Monsters & Critics
"Heartfelt, philosophical, imaginative, and religious, these stories offer new ways to read text."—Sharon Elswit, Jewish Book Council
"A Bride for One Night is a book that lovers of Talmud must buy."—Jay Michaelson, Jewish Daily Forward

ISBN: 9780827612099

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

184 pages