Eva Etzioni-Halevy, author of The Triumph of Deborah (Nov 9-22)

Please welcome Eva Etzioni-Halevy, author of The Triumph of Deborah. Eva will be chatting on LibraryThing until November 22nd.

Hello,

I am a sociologist who has turned inot a biblical novelist, having published three novels about women in the Bible. My latest novel is:

THE TRIUMPH OF DEBORAH

Here is a brief description:

Recently published by Plumee/Penguin, it offers a daring interpretation of the riveting tale of one of the most highly revered biblical figures: the leader, judge and prophetess Deborah, who led her people to war and also to peace.

In ancient Israel, war is looming. Deborah convinces warrior Barak to launch a strike against the neighboring Canaanites, who threaten their people with destruction. Against all odds he succeeds, returning triumphantly with two daughters of the defeated king in his tow. Yet military victory is only the beginning of a personal turmoil, of which Deborah becomes part.

Despite setbacks in her own life, she gropes her way toward her greatest triumph: the attainment of peace. Will she be able to persuade Barak to be her emissary of peace, as he had previously carried out her design for war?

Following the lead in the Bible (Judges, 4-5) the novel pays tribute to the feminine strength of Deborah from which women today may derive inspiration. Despite the difficult conditions for women prevailing at the time, she "cracked the glass ceiling" over three thousand years ago. What all women can learn from Deborah is that no matter what the field in which they choose to realize their potential, no matter what is right for them, they can draw on their inner strength to achieve it.

THE TRIUMPH OF DEBORAH follows my two previous biblical novels, THE SONG OF HANNAH and THE GARDEN OF RUTH (which have had six printings, each).

The novels are not just for those with an affinity to the Scripture. They all have intriguing plots, have frequently been referred to as "page turners" and are written in a light style, first and foremost for reading pleasure. Yet, in a rather painless way, they impart some knowledge of history in biblical times.

The novels have some sensuous scenes in them but are still deeply religious books.

For more information, please see my website: www.women-in-the-bible.com

Eva Etzioni-Halevy

So, just to return your punt (late) for perhaps a couple of yards ... let me see if I can't formulate a question from the things that are rolling around in my head. And I'll start off with an admission: I've not read the book yet, beyond the web site excerpts. But I have been reading Josephus, and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, and Joseph and Aseneth and there we've got some people approaching the same task as you: taking a biblical narrative or characters, and rewriting it or elaborating it for their own audience.

Can we start with those, then--have you delved into some of these Hellenistic stories? Joseph and Aseneth really seems like it's a very direct ancestor of your books. Or how about the Rabbinic elaborations on the biblical tales (which I only have the smallest familiarity with)?

Hello,

I have to admit that I have not read the books you mention and will have to do some homework before I can express an opinion about them.

As for the Rabbinic elaborations on the biblical tales I(such as the Midrash,) I have read those that relate to the biblical accounts on which my novels are based, but I have not necessarily incorporated them into my stories. Instead, I have approached the Bible itself directly.

My novels are meticulously faithful to the Bibilical text and only fill in the gaps left by the Scritpure. But they are not, and are not meant to be, faithful to the Rabbinical elaborations of those stories which, as one Rabbi has aptly put it, attempt to reconcile between the deeds of the biblical heroes and heroines and rabbinical law.

Hello Eva!

I hope I made it back in time for your author chat! I'm just going to rattle off some questions I had for you if you don't mind.

You've written about (so far) three very intriguing ladies. I assume that Deborah is closest to your heart currently since she's the latest one, but did one of them speak more clearly to you than the other while you were writing?

You made a comment to me earlier (and I meant to ask you then) - since we share the same name - that Chava was not one of the Biblical ladies you were thinking of writing about. How come? To archetypical? Intimidating? Just not interesting? Or would it be too much of a "fantasy" book? Not enough information to build a story on? Too easy...?

Do you have a favorite contemporary Israeli writer? I read a lot of Israeli fiction and I was wondering if there was someone you thought is especially representative of the Israeli spirit?

And, lastly, on a more personal note, I'll be spending a day or two in Tel Aviv soon - any good restaurant recommendations? :) (No real need to answer that one in this forum...) :)

/Eva (aka One Swede Read)

Dear Eva,

Thank you for your interesting questions and comments.

While I identify with all my biblical heroines, the one I always felt closest to was Pninah, from THE SONG OF HANNAH.

As depicted in the Bible, the heroine of the story is Hannah, while Pninah is the "bad guy" who provoked her and made her suffer.

However, the lives of both women were traumatic: that of Hannah – because she craved for a son but was barren, and that of Pninah, because she was an unloved wife.

Moreover, as I see it, the life of Pninah was more traumatic than that of Hannah. Hannah eventually got the son she craved for. And he was not just any son, but one that every Jewish mother would be thrilled to have. Not "my son the doctor," but "my son the chief justice," which is not so bad either.

Pninah, on the other hand remained the unloved woman. She did not crave for sons, as she had those, but for her husband's love, which he was unable or unwilling to give her. What led her to provoke her rival was the jealousy stemming from this trauma.

My novel gives voice to both women and describes how they both coped with the traumas in their lives, But my heart was open especially to Pninah and in my novel she did so, in a rather unorthodox way.

Chava is in fact not one of the biblical ladies I could write about, especially not the first part of her story in the Garden of Eden, because I cannot visualize a life in which one does not have to struggle.

Ah, it sounds like you're hewing much closer to the received biblical text than the various Hellenistic authors were -- the Rabbinics were as serious about it as you, only filling gaps rather than taking the extravagant liberties of the Hellenistic period. That was that thing to do with your text, though -- pagan Greek writers had been rejiggering Homer just as Jewish writers in Hebrew had been rewriting their own stories (Chronicles compared to Gen-2 Kings, to give the prime example).

Joseph and Aseneth is a hoot, though, and I'd recommend it; honestly it's terribly heavy-handed as a novel---comparing it to a contemporary novel is sort of like comparing the morbid/bawdy/'low' humor that you get in a Shakespeare tragedy to the more on-topic or in-spirit humor that you get in drama (stage, screen, page) today.

So--without giving away anything--do you try to get humor in your books? What kind? (Funny ha-ha? Funny weird?...)

thanks!

Here is the sequel to my previous message:

I only know about kosher or vegetraian restaurants in Tel-Aviv, and then it depends very much on your taste. Meat? Milk? Oriental? Turkish? East European? Price range?

Let me know, and I will do my best.

Shalom,

Eva

Pninah, eh? I never really thought of her, because the traditional emphasis is on Hannah, which is exactly what you were trying to do something about, it seems. :) Very interesting - thanks for expounding on that. The book is in my bookshelf, so I'll be picking it up soon!

Restaurant-wise, kosher is just fine. I'll be with friends who keep kosher, so my trip will be almost exclusively kosher-based. :) Type of food doesn't really matter (as long as it's not seafood). I'm just looking for suggestions from people of their favorite "comfort food" places, be it a falafel-stand or a fancy restaurant.

Thanks again!

/Eva

I hope you will find Pninah likable, in spite of the fact that she is rather unorthodox in the way she gets back at her husband.

Restaurants in Tel-Aviv: Meat restaurants I like: Lilith and Mythos (have a few vegetarian dishes, enough for me.)

Milk restaurant I like: Bariba in the harbor area.

Another milk restaurant I like (does not have a Hechsher but serves only milk dishes and fish:)
Aninah. It is located near the Eretz Israel Museum and is a good choice if you visit the museum or other ones in Ramath Aviv.)

Hope you have a good time!

Eva

Hello,

I can see that you are quite well versed in relevant literature, much more than I am.

Just one point: The rabbinics were in fact very serious about the Bible. So serious, that they could not bear it if biblical figures had sexual enounters that were not strictly according to Jewish law, and tried to interpret them away. I believe that the Bible depicted its heroes and heroines as earthy people and not as saints!
And this is the way I described them in my novels.

Humor? I am afraid there is not too much of it. Perhaps a humorous remark here and there. Not intended to make you burst out in laughter.

Thank you for your interest and thoughtful remarks!

Eva

Eva,

Thanks for the recommendations!!! They'll go in my travel-notebook.

/Eva