The Naomi Scrolls, A Midrashic Love Story

Imagine. . . A momentous archeological find has rocked the world of biblical scholarship: four scrolls dating from the time of the Judges in Israel-more than 3,100 years ago-have been unearthed in the city of Bethlehem. To add to the excitement, the scrolls were authored by a woman: Naomi, the beloved mother-in-law in the Book of Ruth. Ann is an artist and Hebrew calligrapher, Torah chanter, teacher, midrashist, mother, and grandmother. She received her A.B. from Sarah Lawrence College and M.A. from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. She taught at Suffolk County Community College for over twenty years and has devoted much of her life to Jewish education. She is coauthor (with Rabbi Aaron Blumenthal) of The Way of the Rabbis: An Introduction to Rabbinics for Young People. Although she leads a relatively traditional lifestyle, she is an iconoclast at heart. Many people think of her as a feminist; she thinks of herself as a humanist. She lives on Long Island with her husband of 50 years in a house of many colors. This is her first novel.