Banot Press was established to publish books in English that encourage more women to study Talmud, as well as anyone who wants to understand the origins of today’s Judaism. Our goal is to bring Talmud to those unable to access traditional yeshiva learning.

The Midwives’ Escape: Egypt to Jericho

Cover of The Midwives' Escape

by Maggie Anton

After years of archaeological research and biblical studies, award-winning author Maggie Anton has created a historical novel filled with adventure, warfare, and romance, true to both Torah and to history. The Bible contains many extraordinary stories of a sometimes benevolent, sometimes vengeful deity, who guides the Twelve Tribes of Israel out of slavery, across the Sea of Reeds and through the wilderness to the Promised Land. Maggie Anton’s THE MIDWIVES’ ESCAPE: From Egypt to Jericho brings to life this exceptional Biblical journey through vivid descriptions of what daily life was like at this time, unforgettable battlefield scenes and a colorful cast of characters. An Egyptian mother and daughter, Asenet and Shifra, a midwife and her apprentice, wake up on the morning of the tenth plague to find Asenet’s husband and son, both firstborns, dead. Asenet’s sister Pua, married to a Hebrew, urges Asenet’s family to leave Egypt with them, which they reluctantly do, along with Asenet’s wainwright father and his two apprentices. Recognizing that the Hebrew god is more powerful than any of the Egyptians’ gods, other non-Hebrews join the exodus, including Hittite and Nubian palace guards.

Once hearing and accepting God’s commandments at Mt. Sinai, these two Egyptian midwives join the Hebrews on their forty-year journey to The Promised Land where they tend to the wounded, fall in love, share hardship and adversity, and start a new home and a new generation.

The Choice: A Novel of Love, Faith, and the Talmud

Cover of 'The Choice'

by Maggie Anton

Ever wonder what happened to the protagonists of Chaim Potok’s early novels after you closed that final page? The Choice: A Novel of Love, Faith and Talmud finally answers those decades old questions. When journalist Hannah Eisin snags an interview with controversial Talmud professor Nathan Mandel in 1955 Brooklyn, her goal is to gain the respect of her male coworkers at the Daily Freiheit. But everything changes after Hannah persuades Nathan to become her teacher and guide into the mysteries of the text forbidden to women. Secret meetings and spirited discussions bring the two to the edge of a line that neither dares to cross, as their relationships with each other and Judaism are tested.

Available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and IndieBound

Fifty Shades of Talmud

Cover of 'Fifty Shades of Talmud'

by Maggie Anton

Amusing. Seductive. Stimulating. We’re talking about the Talmud? That’s right. Take fifty actual Talmudic discussions, mix in pithy sayings (appropriate and inappropriate) by luminaries from Mae West and Amy Schumer to George Washington and Gandhi, add a few cartoons, and voila! Delighted and enlightened readers will come away with a new perspective on what the ancient Jewish sages say about our most intimate relationships.

In this lighthearted, in-depth tour of sexuality within the Talmud, come eavesdrop at the first rabbis’ locker-room door as they discuss every aspect of sexual relations – how, when, where, with whom – often in startlingly explicit fashion. Author Maggie Anton reveals how Jewish tradition is more progressive in many respects, and more bawdy, than one might think. The award-winning historical novelist’s first foray into nonfiction is likely to leave her fans going OMG, WTF, and even LOL.

Available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Tales of the Holy Mysticat

Cover of 'Tales of the Holy Mysticat'

by Rachel Adler

When Rabbi Rachel Adler, esteemed feminist theologian, decided her new apartment needed a cat, she searched the local shelters. One gaunt feline caught her eye. Despite being caged, he radiated the spiritual beauty of face and dignity of bearing that mark a great soul. As he settled into his new home–purring at the Hebrew volumes in Adler’s library, nodding attentively to the mezzuzot on her doorposts, and engaging in soulful meditation three times each day–Adler discerned that he was no ordinary kitty. He was an old soul with many lifetimes of Jewish wisdom to impart, reincarnated to a higher level in the form of a gray tabby–the Holy Mysticat.

This engaging book is a guide to Jewish literacy, using the behaviors of Adler’s most peculiar cat to lead readers on a journey through thousands of years of Jewish thought, history, and practices. A collection of whimsical stories, interspersed with cleverly drawn black-and-white illustrations, Tales of the Holy Mysticat provides unique insights into Jewish mysticism by one of our generation’s most profoundly creative scholars–portrayed through the life of her cat. Just as the Holy Mysticat became Adler’s teacher, so too can the Holy Mysticat teach us all.

Available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and IndieBound