The award-winning author of Rashi’s Daughters, Maggie Anton, has written a wholly transformative novel that takes characters inspired by Chaim Potok and ages them into young adults in Brooklyn in the 1950s, a time of Elvis and Marilyn, communist scares and polio vaccines, Jewish migration and American integration. When Hannah Eisin, a successful journalist, interviews Rabbi Nathan Mandel, a controversial Talmud professor, she persuades him to teach her the mysteries of the text forbidden to women–even though it might cost him his job if discovered. Secret meetings and lively discussions bring the two to the edge of a line that neither dares to cross, as their relationships with each other and Judaism are tested. https://thechoicenovel.com/

Maggie Anton is an award-winning author of historical fiction, as well as a Talmud scholar with expertise in Jewish women’s history. She was born Margaret Antonofsky in Los Angeles, California, where she still resides. In 1992 she joined a women’s Talmud class taught by Rachel Adler. There, to her surprise, she fell in love with Talmud, a passion that has continued unabated for thirty years. Intrigued that the great Jewish scholar Rashi had no sons, only daughters, she started researching the family and their community. Thus the award-winning trilogy, Rashi’s Daughters, was born, to be followed by National Jewish Book Award finalist, Rav Hisda’s Daughter: Apprentice and its sequel, Enchantress. Then she switched to nonfiction, winning the Gold Ben Franklin Award in the religion category for Fifty Shades of Talmud: What the First Rabbis Had to Say about You-Know What, a lighthearted in-depth tour of sexuality within the Talmud.

Books will be available for purchase at the event.

This event is co-sponsored by Women of Beth Israel. To learn more, visit: https://cbisd.org/getinvolved/wbi/

There is no fee, but please RSVP for planning purposes. Masks are required if you are attending on our campus. This is whether or not you are vaccinated. If you are unable to wear a mask during the entire time, and this includes when you are speaking, please register using the link below and join in via Zoom for the sake of your comfort and others.

This event is presented in Diverse Access and will be available simultaneously in the South Social Hall at Beth Israel and on Zoom. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the event. For more information, contact Program Director Ilene Tatro at itatro@cbisd.org.