About
Born in Israel to Jewish immigrants from Egypt, Ronit Matalon was known for giving a voice to Mizrahi (Jews of Middle Eastern/North African descent) women. And the Bride Closed the Door is a broad comedy about a bride who refuses to go forward with her wedding ceremony, sowing havoc. The book captures a segment of Mizrahi society not often featured in Israeli fiction. Matalon won Israel’s prestigious Brenner Prize the day before her untimely death from cancer.
Shulamit Reinharz is professor of sociology emerita at Brandeis University and founder of the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute. In conversation with Moment book review editor Amy E. Schwartz.
Israel offers a far richer culture than a visitor can grasp from just following its politics or visiting its tourist sites. One powerful way to plunge deeper is to read Israeli literature. Like the Talmud, though, it’s a vast sea. Where should you start?
This program is part of a book series, co-sponsored by The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and Moment Magazine, that explores today’s Israel through the eyes of writers in a kaleidoscope of genres: novel, memoir, short stories, poems. For each work, we offer a special guest: the author, the translator, or a scholar who guides readers through the text as well as field readers’ questions. Moment book review editor Amy E. Schwartz leads these conversations.
More
Sign up for Moment’s upcoming Zoominars—and watch all our past events—here!