The Migdal Chapter of Hadassah at North Shore Towers presents…
Hadassah Book Club to discuss “Henna House”
HERE’S WHAT THE CRITICS ARE
SAYING ABOUT “HENNA
HOUSE” BY NOMI EVE…
“Eve opens a window on
a community little known
in the Western world, whose
rituals and traditions were
maintained over two thousand
years. Her appealing portrait of
young men and women moving
from an ancient life into modernity
will captivate readers who
enjoy historical fiction.”
—Library Journal
“Nomi Eve’s novel is a heady
mix of henna, history and the
power of words written on skin,
sand and paper. An engrossing,
surprising, compelling read.”
—Indira Ganesan,
author of “As Sweet as Honey”
On Wednesday, November 28,
the Migdal/Hadassah Book
Club will meet at 2 p.m.
in the Coleridge Lounge, in the
Building #3 Arcade. A discussion
of “Henna House,” a novel by
Nomi Eve, will be led by Arlene
Augenbraun and Bern Rosenthal.
Eve, prize-winning author of
“The Family Orchard,” has written
another fascinating story, set in a tiny
village in Yemen during the nineteen twenties to
nineteen forties. The Yemenite Jewish community
there follows ancient Jewish traditions and is cut off
from the rest of the world. Written as a girl’s memoir,
the compelling story centers around the fear of the
Confiscator, a Muslim official who has the right to
seize orphaned Jewish children and give them up
for adoption to Muslim families. To prevent this
calamity, many Jewish families engage their young
girls and even baby girls to be married. The practice
of henna—women drawing elaborate designs on
each other’s bodies in a celebratory mode—is the
novel’s other major theme.
Wednesday, November 28, at 2 p.m.
Coleridge Lounge, in the Arcade of
Building #3
The Hadassah
Book Club meeting
The Migdal/ Hadassah Jewish Book Club
BY LILLY COHEN
Photo by Stephen Vrattos Migdal/Hadassah’s Jewish
Book Club was founded
in 2008, the brainchild
of Bern Rosenthal and the late
Barbara Rosenfeld. “Our goal was
to read and discuss books about
a spectrum of Jewish experiences,
including stories of immigration,
families undergoing change, love,
history, the Holocaust and Israeli
writers.” Bern explained. “We decided
the books could encompass
many genres, including fiction,
nonfiction, memoirs, even short
stories. However, fiction dominates
our selection, because fiction can
illuminate history as the reader is
drawn into the its world and makes
the personal connections to the
characters, setting and plot.”
Bern, who served as the group
leader from the start, was joined by
Arlene Augenbraun, another experienced
book club leader, in 2014.
The two women share a passion for
books and quickly
became a formidable
team. “We
love reading, enjoy
working together
and are very much in
sync.” Augenbraun
said. ‘We’re devoted
to the Book Club,
because our readers
are so enthusiastic
and perceptive. We
laugh a lot. In fact,
we call ourselves
bookaholics.”
Arlene and Bern
follow a thorough
book selection
process, including
research, reading
and evaluating a
variety of books,
before selecting the
one which will best serve Club
members’ interests. They accept
suggestions from members and
The Jewish Book Council, as well
as study the author’s background,
Jewish Book Club Co-Chairs Bern Rosenthal (left) and Arlene
Augenbraun (right) “bookend” author Talia Carner, who was
cited as the featured guest of the Club’s inaugural Author
Luncheon in 2017
other publications and reviews.
Their audience, which has grown
over the years, appreciates the
depth of information provided by
the two women, because it always
generates a lively and
enthusiastic discussion.
The takeaway
from these discussions
is the serious thought
and attention given
to Jewish history and
contemporary Jewish
issues.
The Migdal/
Hadassah Book and
Author Luncheons
were an outgrowth of
the Book Club. Bern
and Arlene came up
with the idea based
on the tremendous
interest in reading both
in their group and at
North Shore Towers.
The two Book and
Author Luncheons
held so far have
attracted sizeable audiences and
raised funds for Hadassah’s medical
research. Another Book and
Author Luncheon is scheduled in
the Spring of 2019.
28 NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER ¢ October 2018