The Fruit of Her Hands: The Story of Shira of Ashkenaz

by Michelle Cameron

Book Overview

A thirteenth-century historical novel about a rabbi's wife who perseveres amid rising anti-Semitism in Europe. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1439118221
• ISBN13: 9781439118221
• Release Date: September 2009
• Publisher: Gallery Books
• Length: 436 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Well-written historical novel

While I'm normally not drawn to historical fiction, Michelle Cameron has made this novel about the Jewish scholar Meir Ben Baruch so rich in details that I felt I was living in the world of the 13th century. The author also made the brilliant decision to have the story told through the eyes of his wife, someone who could have been only a minor figure or side character. Instead, it adds to the richness of the story and the struggles as Baruch and his family fight anti-Semitism.Unflinchingly honest and a book I couldn't put down.

Powerful drama

Rabbi Meir ben Baruch is a famous Talmudic scholar from the thirteenth century. What sort of woman would a man with such lasting influence have married? Shira is the daughter of a Rabbi and has been raised to appreciate the joy of learning. One of his students, Nicholas Donin, rebels against the conventional thinking of the time period and ultimately plays an integral role in the atrocities committed against the Jewish people during his lifetime. Shira is attracted to Nicholas but her father intervenes. However, her youthful indiscretion haunts her even as she meets and marries her soul mate, Meir ben Baruch. Education is valued by Shira's father but the societal expectations of the thirteenth century are at odds with Shira's desire to study the Talmud. Michelle Cameron does a beautiful job at showing Shira's keen intelligence and her own emotional turmoil over the subservience expected by women of the time. We get a glimpse of the true inner strength that a woman such as Shira would have to possess to find a balance that would make her happy while still meeting the demands of society. The thirteenth century is not always kind to Shira or Meir, but their valor shines through regardless. The persecution experienced by the Jews is horrific, to the point it brought tears to my eyes. Some of the events are so shocking as to seem unbelievable, such as the story of Hugh in Lincoln, and yet sadly the story is all too true. Shira is an excellent narrator for these events as she sees the heavy hand of religious persecution while learning herself not to judge others. Her compassion and friendship with both Christians and Jews makes her perspective appear more balanced and therefore accentuates the horrendous nature of the various persecutions experienced by thirteenth century Jews. History comes vividly alive as Michelle Cameron weaves together historical events with a bit of fiction to craft a moving and very powerful portrayal of the life of a Jewish woman in the thirteenth century. THE FRUIT OF HER HANDS evokes a strong emotional response that lasts long after the last page has been turned. Bravo!

Interesting and enlightening story

Sometimes, when we start researching our family tree, we discover an ancestor who makes us proud. When author, Michelle Cameron, found she descended from Rabbi Meir ben Baruch, she decided to learn as much as she could about him, and memorialize him in a novel. Through the eyes of his fictional wife, Shira, we revisit 13th century Europe, at the rise of anti-Semitism. During this time period, the Talmud was burned, and growing mistrust of the Jewish people caused their cruel persecution and imprisonment. But Shira and her family are strong in their faith and community, and refuse to allow their fears to control them. In the midst of this unrest, we learn what a great and important man Rabbi Meir ben Baruch is in his lifetime. Blending the history of her ancestor and his fictional family with Jewish faith and custom, The Fruit of Her Hands is a moving story that spans several generations. When we first meet Shira, she's a young girl. She marries, has children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren by the time the story concludes. Fear of a group of people causes humanity to act in ways that are unfathomable to rational minds. Yet we see behavior like this time and time again. But exeriencing how the Jews were persecuted, first-hand through Shira's thoughts and memories, reminds us not to judge based on appearances. There's a lesson for all of us in this remarkable story. Reviewer: Alice Berger

Fruit of Her Hands is a great read, I recommend it highly!

I could not put this book down. I had to find out what would happen next! The characters were beautifully written, complex and human. Fruit of Her Hands offers a detailed look into thirteenth century life. I followed Shira on her journey through life and truly wished the story would never end. This is a wonderful selection for book club discussion, vacation reading, gift giving and especially for your permanent collection.

A compelling glimpse into a little-known part of Jewish history...

Michelle Cameron's THE FRUIT OF HER HANDS tells the surprisingly fascinating story of Rabbi Meir of Rothenberg, Germany, the greatest Talmudic scholar of the 13th century, as seen through the eyes of his wife and soulmate, Shira. The recorded history of Rabbi Meir, who is Cameron's ancestor, says nothing about his family other than he had a son, Suesskind, and several unnamed daughters. But Cameron reasoned that such a remarkable man would have had an equally remarkable wife, and so she invents Shira, the only daughter of a widowed French rabbi with a thirst for learning and a mind of her own. The novel deftly weaves Meir and Shira into some of the darkest chapters of medieval Jewish history: The Paris disputation (trial) and mass burning of the Talmud in 1240-42, the blood libel of Little St. Hugh of Lincoln in 1255, and King Rudolph I's decision in 1286 to enslave the Jews of Germany, which forced Meir to flee to Palestine, only to be captured en route and imprisoned for ransom. Meir and Shira also become entangled, politically and personally, with the villainous Nicholas Donin, a radical Jewish scholar who is rejected as a suitor for Shira's hand, excommunicated by the Chief Rabbi of Paris, and eventually becomes a Franciscan monk. Donin takes his revenge by convincing Pope Gregory IX to condemn the Talmud for blasphemy and King Louis IX of France to confiscate and burn 12,000 copies in Paris. Cameron stays true to history and does not inflate Shira's role unduly. She is no proto-feminist or free-thinking firebrand, but rather an obedient daughter, a loving wife, and a restrained (if highly intelligent) observer of events whose greatest concern is keeping her family safe. Her greatest enemy after Nicholas Donin is her hypercritical mother-in-law. Even so, Meir and Shira's struggle to survive and even thrive in an increasingly anti-Semitic Europe, the wealth of detail about Jewish life 700 years ago, the illuminating snippets of Talmudic wisdom and Jewish poetry, and Cameron's clean and lyrical writing make THE FRUIT OF HER HANDS a marvelous read and a remarkable achievement for a first-time novelist.