Apprentice

This is a beautifully written story of a woman who is the daughter of a prominent Torah scholar and teacher during ancient times. Hisdadukh is not only interested in learning Torah which is unusual during this era, but her curiousity is captured by the practice of magic. She becomes an apprentice to another woman who is a kashafa and learns how to scribe amulets to protect people against evil forces.
The author, Maggie Anton introduces the reader to this complex female character Hisdadukh and successfully peeks our interest by surrounding her with many trials and tribulations such as the loss of her husband, her son and her daughter sequentially. Readers travel through time with the central figure gaining a terrific understanding of what show more it was like to be the daughter of a religious rabbi at the time and also to be a woman of intelligence, curiousity and passion who must overcome society's prohibitions and adhere to certain rules and rituals.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel as I did Anton's other books. What is unique about this book is the knowledge about Talmud that one gains reading it. I highly recommend it for those interested in Jewish studies and in the plight of women throughout history. Anton is a writer that deserves high praise. I am looking forward to part two of this story!!! show less

Hisdadukh, blessed to be both beautiful and learned, is the youngest child of Talmudic sage Rav Hisda. The series about her unfolds in third-century Babylonia, in the household of her father, one of a handful of beleaguered rabbis struggling to establish new Jewish traditions after the destruction of Jerusalem's Holy Temple.

The world around her is full of conflict. Rome, fast becoming Christian, battles Zoroastrian Persia for dominance while Rav Hisda and his colleagues face defiance by those Jews who cling to the old ways. Against this backdrop Hisdadukh embarks on the tortuous path to become an enchantress in the very land where the word 'magic' originated - where some women draw on the occult to protect and to heal as some employ show more sorcery to gain power for themselves and to injure others.

But the conflict affecting Hisdadukh most intimately arises when her father brings his two best students before her, a mere child, and asks her which one she will marry. Astonishingly, Hisdadukh replies, “Both of them.” Thus she marries the older student, although it becomes clear that the younger one has not lost interest in her.

Despite her growing powers, Hisdadukh soon suffers a woman’s most devastating losses. Despairing, she flees to Eretz Israel, her people’s ancient homeland. There she confronts her greatest challenges – an evil sorceress intent on destroying her, a previous suitor she despises, and a charming mosaic artisan who offers her happiness at the cost of repudiating everything her family values most. show less

Hisdadukh, daughter of the legendary Rav Hisda, is the youngest child in her large, prosperous family. Although a girl, her father allows her to sit in and listen when he teaches his students about Mishna and Baraita. One day, he turns to her and offers her a question: of his two best students, which would she like to marry? Startled, Hisdadukh answers “Both of them.” Shortly, she is engaged to Rami, the elder of the two boys, but as time passes it becomes clear that his rival hasn’t lost interest. Not only is Hisdadukh is clever and the daughter of a wealthy rabbi, she’s also training to become a sorceress who uses Talmudic magic to create amulets and cast protective spells. At a time when Rome is crushing Jewish rebellions and show more Christianity is on the rise, Hisdadukh’s world is in constant flux. But amidst the danger and tragedy there is always time for family, love and life.

I don’t know much about Judaism, but it’s supposed to be one of the big three monotheistic religions, right? I was surprised by the wide pantheon of demons and angels invoked by Hisdadukh and her family in her spells. Well, to backtrack a bit, I was surprised that women like Hisdadukh performed magical rituals in the first place – isn’t there a passage in the Old Testament about not suffering a witch to live? Anyway. The magical chants and ritual practices were fascinating.

Equally information-dense, but harder to get excited about were the endless debates during the lectures of Rav Hisda. He would introduce a topic and then his students would start defending and shoring up their views with passages from the Holy Book and teachings of Sages and learned men. The trouble for me, as a reader, was that many of these talks revolved around such minor, random details that it was hard to care what the final result would be. I’m sure it’s important to a scholar of the religion, but for someone who just wants to escape into a different world through a novel for a few hours…well, the debates really bog things down.

But the rest of the novel is so successful at resurrecting a long-lost time and place that I forgive it. Whether Hisdadukh was describing her father’s home in Susa or her long journey to Jerusalem, the sights and sounds around were conjured up as clearly as if I was walking by her side. The regular routines of life – brewing date beer, giving birth to children, mourning the dead – are all rendered so vividly that the great distance of time and space seemed to fade away. It was a great adventure, and I highly recommend this book. show less

Between the years of 230 and 309 C.E. a famous Rabbi, Hisda, lived in Babylonia. Among many other scholars Rav Hisda participated in discussions on passages of Jewish law (Mishnayot and Beraitot) that had been written down by the year. These discussions took place in Babylonia and Israel and were written down in two Talmuds that have come down to us, the Bavli and the Yerushalmi. Although men were the participants in these discussions, the Talmud also tells us about some women who lived during those times. A woman who is among the most frequently mentioned is the daughter of Rav Chisda. In her latest novel, Rav Hisda’s Daughter, Maggie Anton has provided us with a fascinating account of her life and times. The Talmud only referred to show more her as Rav Hisda’s daughter so Maggie provided her with a Persian name, Hisdadukh meaning daughter of Hisda.
As documented in the Talmud, the era in which Hisdadukh lived was one in which superstition co-existed with religion. Hisdadukh was initiated in writing sorcery bowls and amulets by her sister-in-law who earned her living by writing these objects. Because Hisdadukh was literate and intelligent, she quickly excelled at the profession. She married the love of her life, one of her father’s students, and led a happy life until tragedy struck.
Maggie Anton has studied Talmud for many years. Since the Talmud dealt with many aspects of everyday life, she acquired much of her period detail from that source, but she has worked very hard to expand the historical detail that makes her novel come alive. From the first page, Hisdadukh is revealed as a well-rounded character who captures the attention of the reader and keeps the pages turning. I’m looking forward to the next one! show less

This was a well written and fascinating look at the life of a young woman in the third century. The historical and religious detail made the novel educational without my feeling like I was reading a textbook. The characters were well developed and I want to follow their lives further. I would love to pick up the books preceding this one in the series but this book can easily stand alone.

Hisdadukh marries but soon finds herself widowed and doesn't know what course her life should take next. These were not times when women had a lot of personal freedom and the turns the book took were surprising and kept the pages turning. As I mentioned, there is a lot of detail and at times that detail can overwhelm but I really did enjoy the book and show more look forward to further travels with Hisdadukh. show less

Taken from the heart of the Talmud, a name - Rav Hisda's daughter was also the wife of well known, scholarly rabbis. Author Maggie Anton takes the name of the most mentioned female from the Hebrew text and weaves a wonderful historical novel about Hisdadukh (Persian for Hisda's daughter), and her thirst for knowledge in 3rd century Persian Babylonian society that did not look favorably upon female Torah scholars.

From Hisdadukh's (Dada) first person perspective the reader gleans her love of knowledge and quest to escape household chores and instead study at her Father's school where he molds the minds of young scholars. One of the most fascinating characteristics of this book is how young Dada's becomes something of an enchantress or show more spell maker, using charms to protect patrons who purchase her work. Most importantly, however, it is a story of the heart, a timeless book of a girl struggling to define herself in a society that assigns traditional roles to both males and females. The reader sees a girl grow up and take charge of her life, from travels, to sorrow, joy to even a career, Hisdadukh becomes a woman who walks toward her destiny instead of being carried by fate.

This is the first of two books that Anton is writing in the series and if the second book is half as intriguing as the first it will be another great read. For anyone who enjoys historical fiction with heart, that is well written, and a historical time period that seems to be little written about then this book is an excellent choice! show less

Cross-posted from http://meytinink.wordpress.com/2012/09/02/rav-hisdas-daughter/ ‎

As part of Library Things's Early Reviewers network, I was given a copy of Maggie Anton's new novel, Rav Hisda's Daughter. As I was with her first two novels (in the Rashi's Daughters series), I am very glad that the's building in a sequel!

Rav Hisda's daughter is a historical-fiction piece, similar (in concept) to Anita Diamond's The Red Tent and Anton's own earlier works Rashi's Daughters. As a lover of midrash (Jewish storytelling based on Torah or other historical writings) as well as general fiction, I doubly love these pieces. I appreciate the clear wealth of research that had to go into developing not only the characters but all the details - from show more what a woman calls herself while menstruating to the process of creating date beer and the language that was used to craft amulets to protect from specific demons for bathhouses! I'm not a historian, so I can't speak to accuracy, but the feel is spot-on.

We follow the young adulthood of Hisdadukh - Rav Hisda's daughter (would love a pronunciation key on her name - I have been saying "hees-DAH-duke" in my head, but I don't know if that's accurate!) - as she matures from an older child (around 11) to a young wife. It doesn't give away more than the first page (written from Hisdadukh as sort of a memoir overview) to say that she looses her husband suddenly and has to decide how to move forward in her life. Even with that framing in mind, I was consistently unsure of where the story was going next and was regularly, and pleasantly, surprised to see it going down a path I had not anticipated.

Anton's writing is clear and quick-paced. Although she utilizes some "in-speak" familiar to those who have either read her earlier books or who have studied Jewish text, she provides several different reference guides to help newcomers. I am not sure you'd need it - she brings the reader into the story so completely that I think any unfamiliar phrases or concepts would become understandable quickly.

In short - I was hooked from the first pages and can't wait for part 2! show less