by Maggie Anton
Since Talmud infuses this entire novel, I will not detail here which passage is the basis for each scene; that you’ll find on my Web site, www.ravhisdasdaughter.com. But for those who want to check, the major debates are from Bava Batra 21a in chapter 1, Pesachim 49a in chapter 5, Shabbat 61ab in chapter 7, Bava Batra 60a in chapter 10, Bava Metzia 96b in chapter 12, Sotah 21a and Shabbat 32a in chapter 17, Bava Kama 20ab in chapter 19, and Yevamot 115a in chapter 34. The yetzer hara discussion in chapter 10 comes from Sukkah 52b, Yoma 69b, and Berachot 61a, while that on Torah study comes from Shabbat 127a, Kiddushin 40ab, and the sixth chapter of Pirke Avot.
I hope that many of my readers will be intrigued and inspired to learn more about the Talmud from the text itself.
GLOSSARY
Adonai God’s holy name
Agunah woman whose husband has disappeared or died without witnesses, leaving her unable to remarry
Aliyah blessing made before reading from Torah in synagogue
Am-ha’aretz Jew who doesn’t accept rabbinic authority
Aris tenant farmer
Av eleventh month of Jewish year, in midsummer
Bamidbar Hebrew name for biblical book of Numbers
Bar son of
Baraita literally “outside,” additional teachings from the Sages of Eretz Israel not included in the Mishna
Bat daughter of
Bavel Babylonia
Beit din Jewish court
Brit milah circumcision ceremony, done eight days after birth
Chaldean Babylonian astrologer
Charasheta sorceress/enchantress
Cheshvan second month of Jewish year, in midautumn
Ctesiphon capital city of Babylonia
Cubit an arm’s length, roughly twenty inches
Dashtana menstruating
Devarim Hebrew name for biblical book of Deuteronomy
Elohim God’s secular name
Elul last month of Jewish year, in late summer
Etrog citron
Exilarch ruler of Jewish community in Babylonia, descended from King David
Get Jewish bill of divorce
Ha-Elohim! exclamation, “O God!”
Haluk slip, thin undergarment
Hametz leavened bread or cakes, forbidden during Pesach
Hanukah winter solstice holiday, celebrates Jewish victory over Greeks in 167 BCE
Haroset mixture of fruit, wine, and nuts eaten at Pesach
Huppah wedding chamber
Kafri southernmost Babylonian city on the Euphrates River, location of exilarch’s winter palace
Karga Persian poll tax
Kasa d’charasha incantation bowl
Kashafa (pl., kashafot) witch, evil sorceress
Ketuba Jewish marriage contract specifying husband’s financial obligations to his wife in the event of divorce or his death
Kiton bedroom
Kohelet Hebrew name for biblical book of Ecclesiastes
Kohen (pl., Kohanim) Jewish man from a priestly family
Kosher meat from a biblically permitted animal, slaughtered according to Jewish Law
Liliths female demons who prey on newborn babies, women in childbirth, and men sleeping alone
Magi Zoroastrian priests
Mamzer (pl., mamzerim) child from a forbidden sexual relationship, such as adultery or incest
Matzah flat, unleavened bread eaten during Pesach
Mavoi covered alley
Mazal luck, fortune
Mazik (pl., mazikim) impish demon
Melog woman’s property acquired before marriage
Mikvah pool or bath for ritual immersion
Minim heretic or sectarian, often refers to Christians
Mishna Jewish Oral Law, teachings of the Sages in Eretz Israel compiled ca. 200 CE
Mitzvah (pl., mitzvot) commandment from Torah
Mohel ritual circumciser
Mokh wad of cloth inserted vaginally to absorb menstrual blood
Nasus Persian Corpse Demoness
Nehar Malka canal connecting Euphrates River at Nehardea to Tigris River at Ctesiphon
Nehardea central Babylonian city located on Euphrates River
Nega plague demon
Niddah menstruating woman, forbidden to her husband until she immerses in a mikvah; also the state of menstruating
Palla (pl., pallae) Roman shawl-like garment worn by married women
Parasang Persian mile, approximately four kilometers
Pesach Passover, spring equinox festival, celebrates Exodus from Egypt
Pumbedita northernmost Babylonian city on Euphrates River, site of Torah school since the third century
Purim holiday celebrates how Queen Esther saved Persian Jews from annihilation
Rosh Hashana Jewish New Year, in early autumn
Ruchim evil spirits
Samael Angel of Death
Shabbat the Jewish Sabbath, Saturday
Shalom aleichem greeting, “peace unto you”
Shavuot late spring festival, celebrates giving of Torah at Mount Sinai
Shayd (pl., shaydim) demon
Shema passage from Deuteronomy said morning and evening, begins with “Hear O Israel, Adonai our God, Adonai is One.”
Shiva first seven days of mourning for a close relative
Shofar ram’s horn
Sivan late spring month in which Shavuot occurs
Stola (pl., stolae) Roman woman’s outer garment
Sukkah flimsy booth where Jews dwell during festival of Sukkot
Sukkot autumn equinox festival recalls the forty years the Hebrews wandered in the desert after leaving Egypt
Sura southern Babylonian city on Euphrates River, site of the prophet Ezekiel’s tomb and one of the earliest Torah schools
Tasqa Persian land tax
Tammuz summer solstice month (tenth month of the Jewish year), also consort of Babylonian goddess Ishtar
Tefillin two small leather boxes with verses of Torah inside, worn by rabbis on their forehead and dominant hand
Tekufa solstice or equinox
Tesserae small ceramic tiles used in mosaics
Tiragan Babylonian holiday celebrated with colored ribbons
Tisha B’Av black fast, day of mourning in late summer for destruction of both first and second Temples in Jerusalem
Tishrei first month of Jewish year
Torah Jewish scriptures, Written Law given to Moses at Mount Sinai
Tractate volume of Talmud or Mishna, contains many chapters
Traklin dining room or large hall
Tzitzit ritual fringes attached to a Jew’s four-cornered garment
Yetzer hara evil inclination, sexual urge
Yetzer tov good inclination
Yom Kippur Day of Atonement, observed ten days after New Year with fasting, asking forgiveness, and confession of sins
Zav (fem., zavah) person with an abnormal genital discharge
Zonah harlot, promiscuous woman
