Sarah Laughed

by Vanessa L. Ochs

In the inspirational tradition of the bestseller The Red Tent , a powerful retelling of the stories of Old Testament matriarchs “In Ochs’s hands, each story becomes a wellspring of insights that can empower us to think and act differently in our own lives.”
— Jewish Woman “Ardently and unstoppably upbeat”
— Library Journal In this vivid collection, Judaic scholar Vanessa Ochs brings the legends of the biblical matriarchs to new life. Intimate, familiar, and wise, the heroines in Sarah Laughed are revealed to be inspiring role models for women today. From Eve’s rebellious taste of wisdom to the righteous anger of Job’s wife, each woman’s story is retold in imaginative prose and accompanied by meaningful rituals.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Judaism, Judaica

Paperback

First published July 28, 2004

Reviews

[Chris Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I craved something educational and yet accessible in small doses. This book, structured in a way to lend itself easily to weekly religious school classes, fit the bill. The excerpt of scripture leading off each chapter gave me something to grab hold of and then carry with me as I negotiated my own daily challenges. Then Vanessa L. Ochs brings the hectic challenges of the modern era to the divine words and teaches us to bring religion into our daily rituals. Without being preachy or critical of the reader, this book invites each of us to embrace the gifts of the women whose stories have become canonical in our society.

[Genet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book came into my life at just the right time. I love the author's insights and imaginative readings into the lives of women in the Bible. I love her view of modern midrash and applying that tradition to women in particular. I was surprised at some of her conclusions, they were different than what I took from the story - but that was one of the most beautiful parts of the book. She gives us permission to put ourselves into these stories and truly see how they might apply to us today. A wonderful read.

[Terri Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up. The beginning of the book disappointed as I didn't care for her interpretation of Eve's story at all. But as I continued, I found I enjoyed most of the remaining stories. She really fleshed out these women and made them relatable to the modern woman.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! I think I'll have to buy it and read it again! I would recommend it if you're looking for midrash and expansive interpretations of scripture.

[Dev · Rating 2 out of 5]

Audible put this book in the Judaism section of their website. Until I looked up Vanessa Ochs just now, I thought that they'd miscategorized it. It appears that Ochs is a rabbi, but why then is she talking about communion in her book? She made it sound like her place of worship did communion, but maybe I misheard.

This is not a book of short stories so much as it is a book of vignettes followed by modern-day stories that tie into the themes of the vignettes and rituals that one can do on the theme. I was disappointed; I wanted to hear more of the biblical figures' tales and less of the didactic parts.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful retelling of the Old Testament women's stories. This book is more special because of Vanessa Ochs' inspiration to my daughter who picked her up at the airport, then got stuck in 2 hours of traffic on the way to a speaking engagement. Dr. Ochs read from her book while they waited, and conducted a discussion of the readings. What an opportunity!
Anyway, great book for those who love books about women.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was an interesting ok on the lives of some of the women in the Bible, and not all that you would think of. The author adds some thoughts on what the women would have been like that is not actually written about and why they reacted the way they did. It was fairly easy for me to read-as I am not an 'intellectual book' type of reader- the big words scare me.

[Kipahni · Rating 4 out of 5]

well written with wonderful "how this can apply" to your life little end notes on each chapter. like the author stated in the prologue i too felt that too often the only "take home" points that old testemant ladies offered was get married and have babies or practice deception to do so.
glad to see that isn't all there is!

[Kerith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was quite disappointed in this one. Much as I love to read Bible stories, I was not enamored with these. Purely personal in this case, I guess, as her writing is fine and she is well-versed in the knowledge of the Hebrew scriptures. I think I was looking for something a bit more scholarly, not stories re-written to fit into our daily lives.

[Gayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written by a woman who has her doctorate in Jewish studies. It was so good, it went beyond the traditional stories and explored these women from the Bible in ways that I had never considered.

[Kim]

I can't believe how much I learned about women in the bible from this book that I had no clue about that in itself made me love it.

[Diana Biggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not just for the Jewish reader, excellent view into women of the Old Testament for anyone.

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. Could've done without the sugary, sweet, flowery language of the imagined conversations/situations of these women. Also, could've done without the personal stories from the author.