osnat and her dove
the true story of the world’s first female rabbi
by Sigal Samuel
Illustrated by Vali Mintzi
Osnat was born five hundred years ago – at a time when almost everyone believed in miracles. But very few believed that girls should learn to read.
Yet Osnat’s father was a great scholar whose house was filled with books. And she convinced him to teach her. Then she in turn grew up to teach others, becoming a wise scholar in her own right, the world’s first female rabbi!
Some say Osnat performed miracles – like healing a dove who had been shot by a hunter! Or saving a congregation from fire!
But perhaps her greatest feat was to be a light of inspiration for other girls and boys; to show that any person who can learn might find a path that none have walked before.
PRAISE
2021 Children/Youth Canadian Jewish Literary Award Winner
EPL 101 Great Books for Kids 2021
SLJ's Best Books of the Year
★ “A vibrant life story, with imagined conversations and brilliant illustrations, that will find a home in every collection” —School Library Journal (starred review)
★ “This dynamic and respectful picture book envisions the life of a prominent 17th-century Jewish leader who defied gender norms.” —Shelf-Awareness (starred review)
“A rich portrait of an early female Jewish hero.” —Publishers Weekly
“Osnat and Her Dove is an inspiring story of a young Jewish hero, filled with wonderful cultural, religious and historical detail. It’s a testament to the power of knowledge and the importance of parental support.” —BookPage
"Samuel tells about Osnat’s extraordinary life and seamlessly weaves in some of the many legends and miracles that were part of her life story.... Mintzi’s layered gouache paintings beautifully convey this long-ago time with street scenes, yeshiva interiors, and starlit roads. In one evocative double-page spread, Hebrew letters dance across the pages, many taking the shape of stylized animals in Osnat’s imagination. Fact and legend become one in an inspiring story of an exceptional woman." —Kirkus Reviews
“Vibrant...Perfect for religious collections and libraries with high demand for Judaica.” —Booklist
“Mintzi’s striking, mostly full-bleed illustrations (often luminous “gouache colors in layers”) show Osnat in the beautiful, sometimes dreamlike city of Mosul” —Horn Book
“Mintzi’s illustrations have an astonishing beauty. This remarkable book conveys both Osnat’s unusual life, full of contradiction, and the truth about women’s potential. When encouraged to flourish, Osnat and others like her can heal the world.” —Jewish Book Council
“This gorgeous book has everything it needs to be a Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Young Readers. The writing is extraordinary, the artwork is breathtaking. The details of Osnat’s life are well-researched. Most importantly, the story of a little-known Sephardic Jewish woman, and a look at the lives of a long-ago Sephardic Jewish community is a welcome change from the usual holiday and Ashkenazic fare.” —The Sydney Taylor Shmooze
“A lovely recounting of a respected, revered, and legendary first female rabbi, is a joy to read.”—Canadian Review of Materials
“The striking and vibrant illustrations in “Osnat and Her Dove” pull young and old readers alike into Osnat’s world.” —The Times of Israel
“An understated children’s book richly illustrated by Vali Mintzi.”—Forward
“An exploration of Jewish heritage and mysticism; a deeply feminist but not at all didactic tale with magical prose. It’s adorned with gorgeous, vibrant gouache illustrations, full of colorful loose patterns created by the Israeli-Romanian artist Vali Mintzi. Mintzi’s fluid brush line brings the characters to life and there’s a particularly gorgeous spread of Hebrew letters.” —The Jerusalem Post
The story will surely be a surprise to almost everyone who picks it up. The life of a Kurdish Jewish woman named Osnat Barzani, who was born in Mosul in 1590, is relatively unknown to modern readers. This imagined biography informs us that she was a great yeshiva scholar and teacher. The Author Notes at the end relate some of the various legends that surrounded her, and tell of discovered amulets that recounted her supernatural abilities. Author Sigal Samuel has incorporated these legends, along with historical research, into a 500-year-old tale of woman power that will appeal to all families, particularly those with young girls. Osnat Barzani was taught to read by her scholarly father who ran a yeshiva. When he died, she took over as leader and became an inspiration to women everywhere. The book is particularly enhanced by the beautiful illustrations, which are a mix of gouache and pen and ink, with added block print techniques used for the flowing robes worn by the Middle Eastern characters. One two-page spread wonderfully depicts various Hebrew letters surrounding young Osnat, with the words, “Osnat loves the shapes of the Hebrew letters. One looked like a mysterious animal, and another a creeping vine”. The black line drawings (that are overlaid on the Hebrew letters imagining all the various animals) are extremely clever, and will be enjoyable to point out to children. —Lisa Silverman, Co-Editor, Children’s and Teen Literature, AJL News and Reviews
About sigal samuel
Sigal Samuel is an award-winning novelist and journalist. Currently a Staff Writer at Vox, she previously worked as Religion Editor at The Atlantic, Opinion Editor at the Forward, and Associate Editor at the Daily Beast. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia. The Mystics of Mile End, her debut novel, was nominated for the International Dublin Literary Award and won the Canadian Jewish Literary Award and the Alberta Book Publishing Award. Sigal hails from an Iraqi Jewish family in Montreal, and now lives in Washington, DC.
About vali mintzi
Vali Mintzi is an illustrator of children’s books, a graphic designer, and puppetry designer. She was born in Romania and she graduated from the Bezalel Academy of Art in Jerusalem where she lives and works. The New York Times praised her artwork for a picture book by Rita Jahan Foruz, saying: “The Girl With a Brave Heart is strikingly enhanced by Vali Mintzi’s exquisite naïf illustrations, which seem a happy meeting of Gauguin and mid-career Matisse.
