Four Jewish Brides by Liora Ayalon

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They were not given a choice. But they will make their own fate.

Sheindel is hardly more than a child when she is wed to Jacob Isaac, the Holy Jew of Peshischa. Just a girl, she helplessly tries to fill the shoes of her widowed husband’s late wife – her beloved sister Feigaleh.

Just a town away, Miriam is ecstatic on her wedding day to the other Jacob Isaac, the Seer of Lublin, only to be cast aside on her first night as a married woman. In his old age, the Seer marries young, beautiful, energetic Beilah, who never wanted to be a rabbi’s wife.

Four Jewish brides, sisters in fate if not in blood, embody the strong, silent Jewish women of the 19th century. Kept in the shadow of their righteous husbands, history has forgotten them. But these courageous women were no docile girls.

Four Jewish Brides reveals how the wives behind the great religious leaders pulled the strings, influencing political intrigue, entire communities, and the very fabric of Jewish life.

Year first published: 2023