Rena Blumenthal

The Forgotten Sage

World Religions

“In this accessible and vivid biographical study, Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah emerges as a humble, wise leader who promotes an ethos of vigorous debate in the disorienting years following the destruction of the Second Temple. Through a close, incisive reading of the foundational stories of rabbinic Judaism, Harris forges astute connections between the challenges of that era and contemporary, post-Holocaust Judaism. An unforgettable portrait of a little-known sage and his times.”

Thicker Than Mud

Fiction

“Thicker Than Mud is an erudite, multi-layered meditation on loss and healing. Adam Drascher is an archaeologist who unearths a mysterious, biblical-era tablet, which serves as symbol and catalyst for the layers of submerged grief that emerge when his beloved grandfather suddenly passes away. How do we honor our deep connection to the dead while moving forward with our own lives? That is the question that animates this warm, playful, and spiritually sensitive debut novel.”