OCTOBER 26 • 2023 | 49
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described starting at the New Yorker in
2004 as an assistant in the events section
and working his way up into writing
articles that specialized in the arts.
“There is a lot of Jewish content in the
book,” said the author, who celebrates the
Jewish holidays with family. “The early
parts of the book cover a lot of the Jewish
moguls who built the studio system, and
Steven Spielberg later is a major character.
“Hollywood was built by Jewish
immigrants or the children of Jewish
immigrants, and they have had an
incredibly lasting influence.”
A LOVE OF MIDRASH
In contrast, Feldman’s book expresses
her reverence for midrash, and part of
her programs will be explaining the ideas
associated with the concept.
“Writing the book has been a passion
project for me.” Feldman said. “I love
midrash, and I love writing midrash. I
love speaking creatively about the lives
of biblical women whose stories were not
told.
“The whole concept of feminist
midrash is new in a growing area. There’s
a lot of creativity in discovering women’s
voices. I feel that I’ve accomplished that
to a certain degree.
“I’ve introduced not only new women
characters that others may not have
identified with or known from biblical
stories. I’ve given names to those who
didn’t have names but also deepened our
understanding of the lives we did hear
about.”
The book has 10
chapters exploring
different lives
introduced in the Bible.
“In my main
session, I’ll have an
overview of the book
and explain what
midrash is,” Feldman
said. “I’ll share some
information about
the women who
resonated for me,
show how questions
came up from them
and empower people
to think about themselves as they read the
biblical text in a way that lets them ask
their own questions of the text.
“There also will be a session that will
be more text study and explore a little
more about particular characters.”
Feldman grew up in Ohio, was active
in Jewish youth groups and knew that
she wanted to be professionally involved
in the Jewish community. She was a
Jewish studies major at the University of
Pennsylvania and very grateful for those
trailblazers who opened the doors to her
midrash interests.
After going to rabbinical school
in the early 1980s, Feldman served
congregations in Florida and became a
social action rabbi very engaged in public
affairs. She decided she wanted to work
in the Jewish community with public
policies and got a law degree in 1993
from the University of Florida.
Her work in Michigan, from 1996-
2002, was with the Jewish
Community Relations
Council. She went on to be
executive director of Women
of Reform Judaism.
Feldman, 65, and a New
York resident, is currently
retired from full-time
work, but her days are filled
lecturing about her book and
reactivating her law license
to work in the area of clergy
contracts.
Among the other authors
whose books are being
featured throughout the fair, in
person or virtually, are Jonathan
Freedland with The Escape Artist (Nov. 6),
Colin Campbell with Finding the Words
(Nov. 7), Martin Fletcher with Teachers:
The Ones I Can’t Forget (Nov. 8) and
David and Susan Schwartz with The Joy
of Costco: A Treasure Hunt From A to Z
(Nov. 12).
Details
The Detroit Jewish Book
Fair is being centered
Nov. 1-12 at the Jewish
Community Center in
West Bloomfield. To get a
complete list of programs
and to find out about tickets
and the ones that are
priced, go to jccdet/bookfair
or call (248) 661-1000.
Rabbi Marla
Feldman