Talia Carner > Quotes

“If life is a party, you should be the one throwing it!”
― Talia Carner, Jerusalem Maiden

“Don’t judge a home by its appearance, but by the warmth of its welcome.”
― Talia Carner, Hotel Moscow

“yourself into a sheep, and you’ll meet a wolf nearby.”
― Talia Carner, Hotel Moscow

“Low grass and green moss covered soil that, come summer, would turn arid and cracked. Cyclamens peeked out from under the shelter of rocks, pink and shy as brides. Along the path, tall stalks of purple brush-head flowers swayed in the breeze like a flock of hooded priests on the Via Dolorosa.”
― Talia Carner, Jerusalem Maiden

“She is tired of dreading the next war in Israel, of living in fear that she and everyone she knows may not survive. That Tel Aviv will be flattened by a shower of Russian-made missiles hurled by Egypt, Jordan, Syria, or Lebanon; or that Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, the United Emirates, or Libya will blacken the Israeli skies with their thousands of airplane bombers. It’s exhausting to always be on alert.”
― Talia Carner, The Boy with the Star Tattoo

“All this time she hadn't known that "blue" was actually seven distinct shades, each with its own names- azure, Prussian, cobalt, cerulean, sapphire, indigo, lapis. She pressed the waxy pencils on the paper, amazed by the emerging hues: the ornaments curving on the Armenian vase were lapis; the purplish contours of the Jerusalem mountains were shrouded by indigo evening clouds.”
― Talia Carner, Jerusalem Maiden

“May God bless you and keep you. May God shine light on you and be gracious to you. May God turn toward you and grant you peace.” “Thank”
― Talia Carner, The Boy with the Star Tattoo

“Then there are the words that the Song of Solomon provides a man. The enchanting words of courtship."
She closed her eyes and, lips parted, began to chant. "How beautiful you are, my love, your eyes are doves.... Your lips are like a crimson thread, and your mouth is lovely. Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate.... Your neck is like the tower of David.... Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, that feed among the lilies.”
― Talia Carner, Jerusalem Maiden

“She wakes up at six a.m. to inquire with the hotel clerk about the Métro subway. Though she is hours away from taking it, she descends the stairs at the nearest station. To her relief, she discovers a large wall map, and when she presses a button for her destination, Gare Saint-Lazare, the route lights up with miniature bulbs.”
― Talia Carner, The Boy with the Star Tattoo

“My beloved is all radiant and ruddy, distinguished among ten thousand. His head is the finest gold. His eyes are like doves beside springs of water.... His cheeks are like beds of spices yielding fragrance. His lips are lilies, distilling liquid myrrh. His arms are rounded gold, set with jewels. His body is ivory work, encrusted with sapphires.... This is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.”
― Talia Carner, Jerusalem Maiden

“Batya.”
― Talia Carner, The Third Daughter

“we Jews would have been the Kurds and Romani of the world—landless, oppressed, disrespected, and exploited.”
― Talia Carner, The Boy with the Star Tattoo

“Hear, O Israel, Adonai, our God, Adonai, is one,” her mother recited the Shema prayer before bed, then opened her eyes. “Remember, Batya. No matter where you are, say your prayer. It will protect you from demons that come during the night searching for innocent souls.”
― Talia Carner, The Third Daughter

“She opened her Bible to the poetry of the Song of Solomon, forbidden to her virgin mind.
The verses alternated between the bride's and the groom's lines, packed with words of desire of both spirit and body. And then there were the Daughters of Jerusalem, the maidens surrounding the bride, who tempted her to indulge in love before marriage, until she pleaded with them to wait. I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem... that you stir not up nor awaken love until it pleases.
What did that mean?
Set me as a seal on your heart, a seal on your arm. For love is strong as death, passion fierce as Sheol. What exactly were love and passion to be this ardent? Ruthi had no passion for Yossel and his painful yi'chud, so unlike these fervent verses.
A cool breeze stroked the needle-fingered leaves of the cypress outside the yard, and Esther's skin prickled with whatever it was that wasn't supposed to be stirred in her yet. May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth- for your love is better than wine. Your anointing oils are fragrant, your name is sweet-smelling oil. So the maidens love you.”
― Talia Carner, Jerusalem Maiden

“As the room filled with tart, pleasant fumes Esther had never smelled before, her head became light with joy. These paints and and brushes and canvases were the tools real artists used. In the short hour left, inspired by Van Gogh, she chose a corner of the room as her subject and began to paint in tiny, furious brush strokes. To her amazement, yellow and blue combined into a vibrant green, red and blue turned a pulsating purple, and yellow and red mixed into a glowing orange. But beyond the colors, some new magic took over. Esther's eyes, clear as if the cumin had never blinded her, captured shapes and shadows and threw them on the canvas without effort, without thought. The urge to paint was a fountain that coursed through her, her fingers only a conduit to something so big it was hard to imagine her little heart contained it. Surely, this was the work of God. He must be guiding her hand.”
― Talia Carner, Jerusalem Maiden

“Zwi Migdal.”
― Talia Carner, The Third Daughter

“Without Israel, we Jews would have been the Kurds and Romani of the world—landless, oppressed, disrespected, and exploited.”
― Talia Carner, The Boy with the Star Tattoo

“Without Israel, we Jews would have been the Kurds and Romani of the world—landless, oppressed, disrespected, and exploited. Israel continues to offer refuge to Jews whenever the need arises, and given that, along with the nation’s achievements in science, technology, and medicine, Jews everywhere can walk tall. We belong.”
― Talia Carner, The Boy with the Star Tattoo

“The warm winter day brought out the geckos to bathe in the sun, and the world looked pristine, as if a team of cherubim had polished the hewn stone on the houses and the red and blue anemones carpeting the dells. Past Mount Scopus, pinkish-brown mountains fringed the Judean desert. To the southeast, the tip of the Dead Sea, set deep in a valley, shimmered gray like Bathsheba's looking glass.”
― Talia Carner, Jerusalem Maiden