Moses’ Women

Following their book on Sefer Bereshit, “The Passion of the Matriarchs” (2004), the authors focus on the Women of the Exodus, including Yocheved, Miriam, Batya the daughter of Pharaoh, and Zipporah. The book uses talmudic and midrashic sources and a vast range of traditional commentators to bring these women to life. The authors make accessible to readers many valuable commentaries, not previously translated into English, including the Bekhor Shor, the Alsheikh and Hizkuni. The original Hebrew and Aramaic of many of the passages quoted is provided at the back of the volume. The book also draws on the writings of modern scholars such as Rav Soloveitchik, Nehama Leibowitz, Rav Adin Steinsaltz, Aviva Zornberg and Rabbi Benjamin Lau. Included is an intriguing section on the mysterious Kushite woman in the Book of Numbers. The excitement and fascination that the authors feel as they work together with commentators of past and present to unravel the puzzles in the biblical text are contagious and make this book an important addition to Orthodox women’s biblical scholarship.