Seven Matriarchs

The Israeli author Yochi Brandes has published a new book, Sheva Imahot, Seven Matriarchs. The book is described as a modern midrashic interpretation of some of the female biblical figures. Brandes has a foot in a number of Israel’s different religious and cultural communities. The following description is from here.
She was born in Haifa and raised in Petah Tikva in an ultra-Orhodox family. She attended ultra-Orthodox schools affiliated with the Beit Yaakov education network. But unlike most of her peers, she continued on to university and completed a master’s degree in Jewish Studies at the Conservative Movement’s Shechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. She taught Bible in schools, colleges and cultural institutions for many years.
See here, here, and here for discussions about a previous book by Yochi, Melachim Gimmel. I have never read any of Yochi’s books, although our paths did cross at one point in our lives and I have enjoyed her appearances on the radio discussing issues of religion in Israel. I don’t think that any of her books have been translated into English, so if any book publishers are reading this…In the meantime, those who understand Hebrew can see her talk about Parashat Va-Yishlah here, “Rape in the Bible – Who is the Real Victim?.” Her talk addresses inner-biblical interpretation and the relationship between biblical narrative and law.

