Ilana Kurshan is an American-Israeli author who lives in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. She is best known for her memoir of Talmud study amidst life as a single woman, a married woman, and a mother, ''If All the Seas Were Ink.''
Personal life
Kurshan was raised on
Long Island as the daughter of a Conservative rabbi and an executive at UJA-Federation of New York. She graduated from
Huntington High School,
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
, and
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...
, where she studied the History of Science and English Literature. She worked as an editor and literary agent in New York before moving to Jerusalem with her first husband for his rabbinic studies. Although her first marriage quickly crumbled, Kurshan stayed in Jerusalem, working as a translator and foreign-rights agent. In her memoir, she describes how she found a lifeline in the
Daf Yomi
''Daf Yomi'' ( he, דף יומי, ''Daf Yomi'', "page of the day" or "daily folio") is a daily regimen of learning the Oral Torah and its commentaries (also known as the Gemara), in which each of the 2,711 pages of the Babylonian Talmud is covere ...
, the daily study of the
Babylonian Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cent ...
, applying its richness to her life as first a single woman, and then as a remarried wife and mother.
Professional career
In addition to her own books, Kurshan has translated books by
Ruth Calderon and
Binyamin Lau
Binyamin Tzvi (Benny) Lau, (born October 20, 1961, Tel Aviv) is an Israeli rabbi, community leader, activist, author, and public speaker who lives in Jerusalem. He is the head of 929: Tanach B'yachad and headed the Kehillat Ramban synagogue in J ...
from Hebrew to English. She is the Book Review Editor for ''
Lilith
Lilith ( ; he, לִילִית, Līlīṯ) is a female figure in Mesopotamian and Judaic mythology, alternatively the first wife of Adam and supposedly the primordial she-demon. Lilith is cited as having been "banished" from the Garden of Ed ...
'' magazine, and her writings have appeared in ''Lilith'', ''
The Forward
''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ...
'', ''The World Jewish Digest'', ''
Hadassah'', ''Nashim'', ''Zeek'', ''Kveller'', and ''
Tablet''.
Selected works
* ''If All the Seas Were Ink'', 2017
* ''Why is This Night Different from All Other Nights?: The Four Questions Around the World'',2008
*Translation: ''A Snake, A Flood, A Hidden Baby (''originally in Hebrew by
Meir Shalev) Kalaniot Books, 2021
See also
*
Hadran (organization)
References
External links
''Ilana Kurshan's'' web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurshan, Ilana
Living people
People from Huntington, New York
American women writers
Israeli women writers
Jewish women writers
Harvard University alumni
Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Year of birth missing (living people)
American emigrants to Israel