Maybe It Happened This Way: Bible Stories Reimagined

Adam and Eve. Abraham and Sarah. Moses. We think we know
their stories, but the Bible tells us only part of the story. What if we
could see the full picture?

Maybe we'd see that...

...Adam and Eve were children, happily naming all the animals
they saw, fearful of the forbidden tree, challenging the rules, growing up.

...Noah felt hopeless and angry after endless days and nights
of rain, a world buried under water, memories of mocking neighbors who
perished, desperate for any kind of hope.

...Abram and Sarah, gleefully, recklessly smashed idols in his
father's workshop, were stunned by a revelation that would change their world.

...Moses didn't want to know that the Israelite slaves were
his own people, couldn't imagine that they would want to follow him, felt dread
at being asked to lead.

Maybe these iconic figures of the bible were people just
like us, filled with fear and joy, jealousy and passion, mischief and love.

Maybe it happened this way.

List of contents

What Is Midrash?

Introduction: Maybe It Happened This Way

Chapter 1: Adam and Eve Grow Up

Chapter 2: Noah’s Hope

Chapter 3: Go Forth and Smash the Idols!

Chapter 4: Rebecca Goes Forth

Chapter 5: Sisters Stick Together

Chapter 6: Standing at the Edge of the Pit

Chapter 7: A Matter of Life and Death

Chapter 8: Miriam Saves Her Brother

Chapter 9: Moses Sees

Chapter 10: Dancing on the Shores of the Sea

Chapter 11: Standing, Sitting, and Signing at Sinai

Chapter 12: (Don’t) Give Up Your Gold!
Chapter 13: Follow
That Goat!

Chapter 14: Please, God, Heal Her

Chapter 15: Seeing through Caleb Eyes

Chapter 16: Moses Turns Away

Chapter 17: Why Curse When You Can Bless?

Chapter 18: Sisters Stand Up for Justice

 Chapter 19: The
Remembering Song

Chapter 20: The Crowns on the Letters

Discussion Guide

Values Guide

Discussion Questions

Index of Values and Sources

About the author

Rabbi Leah Berkowitz is the spiritual leader of Congregation Kol Ami in Elkins Park, PA. A graduate of Brandeis University and Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, she contributed to Mishkan HaNefesh for Youth, a High Holy Day prayer book, and The Sacred Calling: Four Decades of Women in the Rabbinate. She is also the author of two children's books: The World Needs Beautiful Things (Kar-Ben, 2018) and Queen Vashti's Comfy Pants (Apples & Honey Press 2021).

Summary

This spirited collection will make the Jewish people’s beginnings tangible to today’s readers. --KIRKUS REVIEWS



Take a fresh look at the Bible stories you think you know, retold using the Jewish concept of midrash.
Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Moses. We think we know their stories, but the Bible tells us only part of it. What if we could see the full picture?
Maybe we’d discover that…

…Adam and Eve were challenging the rules, growing up. 
…Noah felt fearful and angry, desperate for any kind of hope. 
…Abraham and Sarah gleefully, recklessly smashed idols in his father’s workshop, and were stunned by a revelation that would change their world. 
…Moses could not imagine that the Israelites would want to follow him, and felt dread at being asked to lead. 
Maybe these iconic figures of the Bible were people just like us, filled with fear and joy, jealousy and passion, mischief and love. 
Maybe it happened this way. 

This is a modern take on Bible stories, with relatable characters; not earnest and reverent, but not transgressive either. It explores timeless themes of interest to kids, including fairness, sibling rivalry, perseverance, forgiveness, courage. Maybe It Happened This Way also covers many lesser-known narratives and lifts up the stories of women in the Bible as well. 



Includes an introduction explaining of the Jewish concept of midrash--stories created to add new layers to our understanding of the Bible; a discussion guide with questions; an index of values; and a guide to sources for each Bible story.

Foreword

Some of the stories you will read in this book might feel
familiar to you. Some stories—or parts of stories—will feel entirely new. You
might ask, Hey, are you making that up? And the simple answer is, Yes, yes we
are. We had a lot of fun using our imaginations to create new stories about
familiar characters—or even to invent new characters to add to familiar
stories—so that we might find new meaning in a very old book.

Did you ever try to make up an explanation for a plot hole
in your favorite series? Or wonder what two characters from different universes
might say to each other if they met? There have been generations of people who
have asked those same kinds of questions about the Torah.

The stories we create when we use our imagination to add new
layers to Bible stories are called midrash, from a Hebrew word that means “to
search or explore.” And we aren’t the only ones who do it. People have been
creating midrash pretty much since the Torah was written. Midrash may attempt
to explain something in a passage that doesn’t make sense or help us understand
why certain characters do what they do. Midrash may be intended to teach a
lesson about something important. Or midrash may be designed simply to
entertain, the same way we write fan fiction about our favorite book and movie
characters.

We believe that the best midrash does all of the above. And it
usually starts with a question: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?

The stories in this book include pieces of the original
story from the Torah, bits of traditional midrash from the generations before
us and from creative people we know, and interpretations that came from our own
imaginations. The traditional sources we’ve used can be found at the end. (If
you are a teacher, you may want to bookmark that page!)

Do you know what the best thing is about midrash? You can do
it too! If you want to imagine what a character in the Torah is feeling or
thinking, what happens after a story ends, or what happened before it started,
we hope you will take out your preferred tools—pencils or paints, fabric or
clay, laptop, dancing shoes or musical instruments—and make some midrash of
your own!

Product details

• Authors: Leah Berkowitz, Erica Wovsaniker
• Assisted by: Katherine Messenger (Illustration)
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Age Recommendation: ages 8 to 12
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 04.10.2022
• EAN: 9781681155869
• ISBN: 978-1-68115-586-9
• No. of pages: 216
• Subjects: Children's and young people's books; Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology > Judaism; JUVENILE NONFICTION / Religion / Biblical Studies, JUVENILE NONFICTION / Religion / Judaism, Relating to Jewish people & groups, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Religious fiction