Smashing the Tablets

Sara Lippmann is the author of Lech, Jerks, and Doll Palace. Seth Rogoff is the author of the novel The Castle and chair of Journalism and Media Studies at Anglo-American University.

"…Lippmann and Rogoff have compiled a truly excellent roster of writers whose work stands on its own, whether the reader is familiar with the source inspiration or not. There's something in Smashing the Tablets for everyone, whether you're a Hebrew school dropout dipping your toe back into Jewish commentary or a biblical scholar looking for new ways of seeing familiar parables. The writing in this anthology is wonderfully inventive and indeed as radical as the title suggests, reclaiming ancient narratives for a modern audience." — Jewish Women's Archive"Smashing the Tablets: Radical Retellings of the Hebrew Bible is arguably the most exciting creative volume devoted to biblical narrative in years and brims with stunning scriptural and psychological insights … [it] is a triumph of the moral as well as aesthetic imagination and deserves a place in every Jewish library." — Jewish Book Council"…[a] stimulating collection of unorthodox takes on Torah stories … The mix of approaches and tones makes for a thought-provoking reevaluation of biblical themes, exploring with particular care how power dynamics are negotiated and which characters are glorified or sidelined. It's sure to spark conversation." — Publishers Weekly"Smashing the Tablets unscrolls the ancient into a congregation of brilliant, strange, and necessary voices. A glorious reminder of how marvelously undead the bible is—after all." — Sabrina Orah Mark, author of Happily: A Personal History-with Fairy Tales"Filled with smart, funny, transgressive, thoughtful essays and stories by many of my very favorite Jewish writers, Smashing the Tablets is the best kind of anthology—the one you hold dear, pass around, and read again and again." — Lauren Grodstein, author of We Must Not Think of Ourselves"Smashing the Tablets is irreverent and rowdy, furious and funny, inventive and learned. It reminds us that the old texts don't have to be read in the old ways—and, indeed, that revisiting them can help us see the present through new eyes." — Lily Meyer, author of Short War"This book is the kind of art we need in this moment: radical, imaginative, and most of all unafraid. Shattering a thing can be an act of faith: we make space for that thing to reform. Smashing the Tablets teaches us this lesson twenty-four times, in twenty-four ways." — Shelly Oria, editor of I Know What's Best For You: Stories on Reproductive Freedom

• AcknowledgmentsForeword: You Suck and Other StoriesShalom AuslanderIntroductionSeth Rogoff and Sara Lippmann1. Lilith in God's HandsCourtney Sender2. Look at Her Xyxs, Her Brxght, Brxght XyxsRosebud Ben-Oni 3. Cain and AbelSeth Rogoff4. CainAriana Reines5. Are You Still AliveMichael Zapata6. Ess and OAnna Solomon7. Lot's DaughtersZeeva Bukai8. Binding VariationsDaniel Torday9. Bilhah and Zilpah Made Me Yearn for Toraherica riddick10. A Little East of JordanMoriel Rothman-Zecher11. The Story of DinahSarah Blake12. PlaguesMadeline Cash13. Mount Sinai and MeAaron Hamburger14. Make It Mean SomethingElisa Albert15. Upon the Hills with Jephthah's DaughterErika Dreifus16. How David LeavesTemim Fruchter17. Once a WitchMatthue Roth18. Isaiah and PowerAviya Kushner19. The Job BookSteve Almond20. RootIlana Masad21. Bauhaus CityOmer Friedlander22. HamanMax Gross23. Scroll of StarsMichael David LukasContributors