Tribal Blueprints

Nishmat Yoetzet Halacha Nechama Price, Director of Yeshiva University’s Graduate Program in Advanced Talmudic Study for Women (GPATS), begins her revealing new book, Tribal Blueprints: Twelve Brothers and the Destiny of Israel, with Rachel and Leah, two of the four mothers of Jacob’s sons, joined later by Bilha and Zilpa, Jacob’s “secondary wives.” She brings to life each son as an individual, tracing how his personality is ultimately expressed in the actions and history of the tribe he spawned. What better place to begin than with the mothers?

“We always learn about the tribes as a group, but I’m fascinated by them as individuals,” said Ms. Price, who spent three years writing Tribal Blueprints. The book began as an informal shiur that blossomed into a course at Stern College, where she teaches. Extensive research led her to add “a tremendous amount of material on the maidservant children, who aren’t usually written about,” she said. Nechama Price, MGC2013, is Yoetzet Halacha for several communities in NJ. As tough as it is to launch a book during a global pandemic, she’s excited that her first book is off the press and getting into readers’ hands. It’s available from Koren Publishers.