Enchantress: A Novel of Rav Hisda's Daughter (Rav Hisda's Daughter Series, Band 2) - Softcover

Anton, Maggie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0452298229 ISBN 13: 9780452298224

Verlag: Penguin Publishing Group, 2014

Inhaltsangabe

Fantastic tales of demons and the Evil Eye, magical incantations, and powerful attractions abound in Enchantress, a novel that weaves together Talmudic lore, ancient Jewish magic, and a timeless love story set in fourth-century Babylonia.  
 
One of the most powerful practitioner of these mysterious arts is Rav Hisda’s daughter, whose innate awareness allows her to possess the skills men lack. With her husband, Rava—whose arcane knowledge of the secret Torah enables him to create a “man” out of earth and to resurrect another rabbi from death—the two brave an evil sorceress, Ashmedai the Demon King, and even the Angel of Death in their quest to safeguard their people, even while putting their romance at risk. 

The author of the acclaimed Rashi’s Daughters series and the award-winning Rav Hisda’s Daughter: Apprentice has conjured literary magic in the land where “abracadabra” originated. Based on five years of research and populated with characters from the Talmud, Enchantress brings a pivotal era of Jewish and Christian history to life from the perspective of a courageous and passionate woman.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Maggie Anton was born Margaret Antonofsky in Los Angeles, California. Raised in a secular, socialist household, she reached adulthood with little knowledge of her Jewish religion. All that changed when David Parkhurst, who was to become her husband, entered her life, and they both discovered Judaism as adults. In the early 1990's, Anton began studying Talmud in a class for women taught by Rachel Adler, now a professor at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles. She became intrigued with the idea that Rashi, one of the greatest Jewish scholars ever, had no sons, only three daughters. Slowly but surely, she began to research the family and the time in which they lived. Legend has it that Rashi's daughters were learned in a time when women were traditionally forbidden to study the sacred texts. These forgotten women seemed ripe for rediscovery, and the idea of a book about them was born.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

***This excerpt is from an advance uncorrected proof***

Copyright © 2014 Maggie Anton

ONE

 

SIXTH YEAR OF KING NARSEH’S REIGN
• 299 CE •

on the Euphrates River south of Pumbedita, Babylonia

“Don’t stand up, mistress.” My slave Leuton put a cautionary hand on my shoulder. She had rarely strayed from my side since I was widowed. “That man who brought you back from Eretz Israel, Abba bar Joseph or Rava or whatever he calls himself now, just came aboard.”

I slumped down in my seat. “Can he see us?”

“Not from where he is.”

Heart pounding, I made my way to where Rava was sitting with his scar-faced slave, Tobia. Wiry to begin with, Rava looked wan and thinner than when we’d parted a few months before. His big eyes were closed, and he was mumbling softly—undoubtedly some Mishna, Baraita, or other rabbinic teaching he didn’t want to forget.

“Shalom aleichem, Rava. It’s good to see you again.”

As I feared, he jumped up and took a step toward the loading ramp, only to halt when he saw it pulled up and the distance from the dock lengthening.

“Hisdadukh,” he said sourly. “Fate seems to have conspired to bring you into my life sooner than I anticipated.”

All hopes for a quick reconciliation evaporated. “Whatever has passed between us, I am still the daughter of your teacher Rav Hisda.” I straightened up and looked him in the eye. “And for his sake, I deserve a proper greeting.”

He stared back and intoned in his deepest, most serious voice, “Aleichem shalom to you, Rav Hisda’s daughter. Did you have a good New Year?”

There was something rich and resonant about Rava’s voice that made people listen when he talked.

“I had a very good New Year, and I am exceedingly grateful to you for making it possible.”

When Rava said nothing, I expanded my gratitude. “I cannot express the joy I felt at seeing my son again.” I paused when tears of happiness filled my eyes. “And at hearing how well his Mishna studies are coming— he and Abaye’s son Bibi have become study partners. If that weren’t enough, there has been more demand for mykasa d ’charasha and amulets than I can supply . . . despite my previous misfortunes.”

I rambled on, until Rava interrupted just as I finished saying, “Imagine my surprise when I saw Achti with a baby in her arms.”

“I thought your sister was barren.”

“She still is. Ukva took her maidservant as his concubine, and the little girl is theirs.”

“Considering your indignant refusal to become my second wife, I would have thought your sister shared your sentiments.”

Rava knew our situation was different, that his first wife was barren while I was the fertile one. But I said only, “Achti’s not happy about it, but she prefers a slave-concubine as her rival rather than another, younger wife.” I paused and added, “It gives her children in the house again.”

“So Ukva has finally fulfilled the mitzvah of procreation.”

The bitter longing in Rava’s voice was so strong I flinched and hurriedly changed the subject to his favorite, Torah study. “While my father certainly missed me and worried about me during those five years I was in Eretz Israel, the hundreds of Baraitot I brought back more than repaid his anxiety,” I said proudly.

Rava gazed at me hungrily. “Teach me what you taught him,” he demanded. “We have hours until we reach Pumbedita.”

I shook my head. “I cannot pour Baraitot from my memory like a grain merchant spills out wheat from a sack. I need a Mishna or Torah verse to remind me of it first.”

He sat down and stroked his beard in thought. “Considering the sea- son, Rav Hisda probably taught about the fall holidays. Can you recall any teachings about them?”

Heaven rescued me, and I recalled a Baraita appropriate for the situation. “In a discussion on forgiveness, Father quoted from Vayikra: ‘You shall not take vengeance and you shall not bear a grudge.’ ”

Rava looked at me with disdain. “Every schoolboy knows that.”

“But do they all know the Baraita that teaches ‘what is taking vengeance and what is bearing a grudge?’ ” I asked. “Revenge is when one man asks another to lend him a sickle and the second refuses, then when the second man asks the first to lend him a shovel, the first one says, ‘Just as you wouldn’t lend me your sickle, so I will not lend you my shovel.’ This is taking vengeance.”

“Go on,” he said. This Baraita was clearly new to him.

“A grudge is when one man asks another to lend him a sickle and the second refuses, then when the second man asks the first to lend him a shovel, the first one says, ‘Here it is. I am not like you who did not lend me your sickle.’ This is bearing a grudge.”

“Is that the end of it?”

I shook my head. “In both cases, the first man should seek forgiveness from the second at Yom Kippur, for a Mishna in Tractate Yoma teaches that Yom Kippur does not atone for sins between a man and his fellow until he appeases his fellow.”

“That is well for property cases,” Rava said. “But what about personal suffering?”

Was he blaming me for his suffering? Thankfully, I thought of a pertinent Baraita. “Those who suffer insult but do not insult in return, who hear themselves disgraced but do not reply in kind, who perform Elohim’s mitzvot out of love and accept their suffering, they shall be as it is written (in Judges): ‘Those who love Him shall be as the sun rising in might.’ ”

Rava nodded thoughtfully, but to my disappointment he remained silent.

His pause made me think of some Baraitot about the world being created on Rosh Hashana. “Seven things were created before the world and they are Torah, repentance, Gan Eden, Gehenna, Elohim’s throne of glory, the Holy Temple, and the name of the Messiah.”

I followed with the miraculous events Elohim created on the eve of the sixth day, and continued in this vein until my voice grew hoarse, and we had to sit quite close for him to hear me over the noise of the flapping sails. “I’m sorry, but I’m not used to giving such lengthy speeches,” I whispered. “On the subject of Rosh Hashana, perhaps you could talk now. Did you have a good New Year?”

“No, I did not.” His eyes narrowed in pain. “I returned to Machoza to find that Romans had pillaged my home and vineyards when they sacked Ctesiphon. My wife moved what little she could salvage to her father’s house in Nehar Panya. She then accused me of neglecting my marital duty by going to Eretz Israel without her permission, so her ketuba payment has increased substantially. Add that to the cost of rebuilding my home, and I’ve had to mortgage my lands.” He took a deep breath. “To make matters worse, my father is very ill and unlikely to recover.”

“I am so sorry.” I could no longer pretend to be an uncaring acquaintance. “Please let me help you.”

“I don’t want any help, especially not yours.”

“Let me supply the extra ketuba payment. After all, you were delayed returning home because you stayed to save my life.” The Rabbis stipulated that when a man divorced his wife, he...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Penguin Publishing Group
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2014
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0452298229
• ISBN 13: 9780452298224
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 400
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: GPSR Kontakt; gpsr@libri.de; ; Europaallee 1; Bad Hersfeld; 36244; Deutschland