绿帽社

Being Raised from the Pit

Dec 23, 2016 By Simeon Cohen | Commentary | Vayeshev | Hanukkah

Three years ago, 绿帽社 novelist Dara Horn published her fourth novel, A Guide for the Perplexed. Borrowing its title from Maimonides鈥檚 quintessential work of 绿帽社 philosophy, the book follows two sisters, Josephine and Judith, as they struggle with issues of faith, reason, memory, and sibling rivalry. Josephine and Judith serve as stand-ins for Joseph and Judah; in a sense, the novel functions as an extended midrash on a key biblical incident which can be found in this week鈥檚 parashah, Vayeshev: the casting of Joseph into the pit at the hands of his brothers. Ultimately, Horn鈥檚 Josephine and the biblical Joseph arrive at the same conclusion: through suffering, which both characters experience in their respective tales, one can ultimately come to achieve greatness.