Tamar Biala has been collecting and editing modern women’s midrashim for over 20 years.  She published them in three volumes of her “Dirshuni” series, two in Hebrew and one in English. (The first Hebrew volume was co-edited with Nehama Weingarten-Mintz.) Since October 7, Biala has received many texts relating to the Hamas attack and its aftermath. In this two-part session we will study these powerful texts written by women about grieving mothers and angry grandmothers, faith and doubt, the Jewish present and past and how they interact with one another.     In the introduction to this episode, Rivkah explains the background behind women’s midrashim. If you’d like to learn more, please listen to this 2022 interview with Tamar Biala about Dirshuni:  https://newbooksnetwork.com/dirshuni See a video about Leora Ayalon’s granddaughter:  https://www.mako.co.il/mako-vod-keshet/heroes-s1/VOD-78a0c38dde9ec81027.htm Texts discussed in Part 1: Liora Ayalon’s midrash: “The Power of a Community to Diminish Suffering in the World” https://docs.google.com/document/d/1q_-NjanK-VZ5pcPePfrSoIQZUyR4qjG4ogOlh2HBadM/edit?usp=sharing   Nurit Hirschfeld-Skupinsky’s midrash “Midrashim of Destruction” https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ti0SrNoJHCDa6YFEo9LuVl22iFLs-q_5gw7qym_7Wa8/edit?usp=sharing Support and amplify women's voices by contributing to the making of this podcast: Donate now to the Center for Women’s Justice.