Banot Press was established to publish books in English that encourage more women to study Talmud, as well as anyone who wants to understand the origins of today's Judaism. Our goal is to bring Talmud to those unable to access traditional yeshiva learning.
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 & Marilyn, communist scares & polio vaccines, Jewish migration & American integration. When Hannah Eisen, 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.
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Amusing. Seductive. Stimulating. We're talking about the Talmud? That's right. Take fifty actual Talmudic discussions, mix in pithy sayings (appropriate and inappropriate) by luminaries from Mae West and Amy Schumer to George Washington and Gandhi, add a few cartoons, and voila! Delighted and enlightened readers will come away with a new perspective on what the ancient Jewish sages say about our most intimate relationships.
In this lighthearted, in-depth tour of sexuality within the Talmud, come eavesdrop at the first rabbis' locker-room door as they discuss every aspect of sexual relations -- how, when, where, with whom -- often in startlingly explicit fashion. Author Maggie Anton reveals how Jewish tradition is more progressive in many respects, and more bawdy, than one might think. The award-winning historical novelist's first foray into nonfiction is likely to leave her fans going OMG, WTF, and even LOL.
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When Rabbi Rachel Adler, esteemed feminist theologian, decided her new apartment needed a cat, she searched the local shelters. One gaunt feline caught her eye. Despite being caged, he radiated the spiritual beauty of face and dignity of bearing that mark a great soul. As he settled into his new home--purring at the Hebrew volumes in Adler's library, nodding attentively to the mezzuzot on her doorposts, and engaging in soulful meditation three times each day--Adler discerned that he was no ordinary kitty. He was an old soul with many lifetimes of Jewish wisdom to impart, reincarnated to a higher level in the form of a gray tabby--the Holy Mysticat.
This engaging book is a guide to Jewish literacy, using the behaviors of Adler's most peculiar cat to lead readers on a journey through thousands of years of Jewish thought, history, and practices. A collection of whimsical stories, interspersed with cleverly drawn black-and-white illustrations, Tales of the Holy Mysticat provides unique insights into Jewish mysticism by one of our generation's most profoundly creative scholars--portrayed through the life of her cat. Just as the Holy Mysticat became Adler's teacher, so too can the Holy Mysticat teach us all.
Available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and IndieBound