Rebekah is an eager student, more sister than master. With Deborah, she breathes in the name of God, stories of Sarah and the matriarchs, and tantalizing tales from distant lands: “I told her about the cats of Egypt and the red radishes and green lettuce and the sweet, juicy melons … at the market.” They grow together, traipsing desert fields and anointing each other with oil. They mark coming-of-age milestones with delight. And when Abraham sends an envoy seeking a wife for his son, they travel together to meet him. While the novel acknowledges hard realities, including era misogyny, slavery, the Akedah, and sexual assault, it does so in an unobtrusive way; its focus is more celebratory. While Deborah—who taught herself to read over Jacob’s shoulder—charges gentle Joseph with writing her stories down, they already pulse through the women of her “quite … remarkable tribe” by virtue of her determined repetition. They dance each month in ceremonies evoking Rosh Chodesh; they bind their family together, uplifting kindness and righteousness. Through their eyes, new depth is revealed in the patriarchs, too: Abraham has regrets; divine light shines forth from Isaac. In the exaltant biblical novel The Scrolls of Deborah, it is women of Abraham’s tribe who are the true storymakers.

– Michelle Anne Schingler, Foreword Reviews

What does it mean to know YHWH, the god of all? Furthermore, what does it mean to share a life with those who know and seek to know the same? Goldenberg’s debut novel recounts the journey of Abraham and Sarah’s descendant Deborah as she begins her life in Egypt. She is then forced to travel to her mother’s family in Haran, eventually settling among the tents of her great-grandfather Abraham. There Deborah meets Rebekah, the girl who would become the most important person in her life. As they enter adulthood together, the two women experience womanhood, motherhood, spirituality, interpersonal connections, the beauty and wonder of nature, raising future generations, and sharing the love of YHWH. Most notably, the novel’s framing creates an intimacy and closeness that makes it easy to imagine and connect with Deborah’s emotional highs and lows as well as her deep spiritual connection to her god. For any who enjoy a feminist Jewish perspective on the biblical era, this start to Goldenberg's Desert Songs trilogy is not to be missed.

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