184 pages
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. 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 a PhD in Talmud from Hebrew University and was elected to the Israeli Knesset in January 2013. She became a national celebrity when she taught a page of Talmud in the Israeli parliament, arguing that the text was the heritage of the entire Jewish people. She is founder and former director of Elul Beit Midrash in Jerusalem and founder and chair of Alma: Home for Hebrew Culture in Tel Aviv.
Ilana Kurshan is the books editor of Lilith magazine. She is the author of Why Is This Night Different from All Other Nights? as well as several articles about Talmud, literature, and Jewish life.
Introduction
The Imaginative Map
The Fishpond
Sisters
The Other Side
Beloved Rabbi
Libertina
Return
A Bride for One Night
Nazir
Lamp
The Matron
The Goblet
The Knife
He and His Son
Sorrow in the Cave
Elisha
The Beruria Incident
Yishmael, My Son, Bless Me
Notes
Selected Bibliography
