Kirsch - The woman who laughed at God: the untold history of the Jewish people

THE WOMAN WHO LAUGHED AT GOD

Jonathan Kirsch, a book columnist for the Los Angeles Times and author of the bestselling and critically acclaimed King David, Moses: A Life, and The Harlot by the Side of the Road, writes and lectures widely on biblical, literary, and legal topics. A member of the National Book Critics Circle, past President of PEN Center USA West, and a former correspondent for Newsweek, he lives in Los Angeles.

ALSO BY THIS AUTHOR

Moses: A Life

King David: The Real Life of the Man Who Ruled Israel

The Harlot by the Side of the Road: Forbidden Tales of the Bible

Kirschs Handbook of Publishing Law: For Authors, Publishers, Editors, and Agents

Kirschs Guide to the Book Contract: For Authors, Publishers, Editors, and Agents

The Woman
Who Laughed
at God

THE UNTOLD HISTORY
OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE

Jonathan Kirsch

PENGUIN BOOKS

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.

Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario,
Canada M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephens Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd)

Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124,
Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd)

Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park,
New Delhi 110 017, India

Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Mairangi Bay, Auckland 1311,
New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd)

Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank,
Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

First published in the United States of America by Viking Compass,
a member of Penguin Putnam Inc. 2001

Published in Penguin Compass 2002

Copyright Jonathan Kirsch, 2001

All rights reserved

THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS HAS CATALOGED THE HARDCOVER EDITION AS FOLLOWS:

Kirsch, Jonathan, 1949

The woman who laughed at God: the untold history of the Jewish people / Jonathan Kirsch.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN: 978-1-101-66473-5

1. JudaismHistory. 2. JudaismEssence, genius, nature. 3. JewsIdentity. I. Title.

BM157.K55 2001

296.09dc21 2001026880

Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publishers prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the authors rights is appreciated.

Cover illustration and design by Honi Werner

Version_1

For Ann Benjamin Kirsch,
my beloved wife and lifelong friend,
wise counselor and woman of valor.

For Jennifer Rachel Kirsch and Adam Benjamin Kirsch,
my accomplished, beautiful, and cherished children.

And for
Judy Woo and Eui Sook (Angie) Yoon,
my dear friends and colleagues,
whose support and encouragement
were essential to the writing of this book.

Remember us in life,
and health, and strength,
O Lord who delights in life,
and inscribe us in the Book of Life...

Yes, God is a writer, and we are both the heroes and the readers. We know that the angels have nothing but praise. Three times a day they sing: Sublime! Perfect! Great! Excellent! But there must be some angry critics, too. They complain: Your novel, God, is too long, too cruel. Too little love. Too much sex. They advise cutting.... But about one quality we all agree: Gods novel has suspense.

I SAAC B ASHEVIS S INGER

As always, I have relied on the constancy and companionship of my beloved wife, Ann Benjamin Kirsch, and our children, Jennifer Rachel Kirsch and Adam Benjamin Kirsch, in all of the work that I do, including this book.

Andrew M. Solomon was my principal research assistant, working in the libraries at Columbia University and UCLA, and his accuracy, enterprise, diligence and good cheer were indispensable in making sense of 3,000 years of Jewish history!

Leonard Braman, too, shared his research skills, and I was able to draw on research materials that were gathered for my previous books by my son, Adam, and Vera Tobin.

Clare Ferraro at Viking Penguin has long encouraged and supported my work, starting with The Harlot by the Side of the Road and continuing over the years through the publication of this book.

I have also been privileged to work with Janet Goldstein and Beena Kamlani at Viking Penguin, each of whom brought their wisdom, insight, taste, and discernment to bear upon the manuscript of this book, as well as Miriam Hurewitz, Yelena Gitlin, and Ann Mah.

Laurie Fox is not only my agent but also my muse, and it was over a cup of coffee with Laurie at a cliffside restaurant in La Jolla that The Woman Who Laughed at God was first conjured up.

Linda Chester has always been welcoming and encouraging to me and my family, both in work and in life, and I am grateful to Linda and all of her colleagues at the Linda Chester Literary Agency for making so many opportunities for me over these many years.

At the offices of Kirsch & Mitchell in Los Angeles, where the early morning hours have been devoted to this book, I have been blessed with the companionship and colleagueship of my friend and law partner, Dennis Mitchell, and our co-workers, Judy Woo and Angie Yoon, to whom this book is affectionately co-dedicated.

I will always owe a debt of gratitude to my colleagues in publishing who are also my dear friends, including Marie Coolman, Heather Smith, Robin Benway, and Liz Williams.

Among the radio and television hosts who do the important work of calling attention to books, my own among them, I am especially grateful to Connie Martinson, Larry Mantle, Joe Skelly, Warren Olney, and Michael Cart.

Among the booksellers across the country who have welcomed me and my books into their stores, I am especially grateful to Doug Dutton, Diane Leslie, Lise Friedman, and Ed Conklin at Duttons in Brentwood, Stan Hynds and Linda Urban at Vromans in Pasadena, Stan Madson and Jeanne DArcy at the Bodhi Tree in West Hollywood, Peggy Jackson at Borders in Montclair, Michael Graziano at Borders in Pasadena, and Katie OLaughlin at Village Books in Pacific Palisades.