Seven Blessi

From The Red Tent to The Ghost of Hannah Mendes, Jewish female writers have addressed relationships viewed against the canvas of a strong faith. Now newcomer Ruchama King gives voice to a fresh theme: how one/s relationship to Torah study within this religious community impacts romantic intimacy and marriage. This novel skilfully interweaves the lives of five Jews who have come to make new lives for themselves in the same neighbourhood. Each seeks the right match, and in finding it, realizes that there are many kinds of matches to be had-the match between singles, between husband and wife, between people and God.

About the Author :
Ruchama King lived, studied, and taught in Jerusalem for ten years. Her short stories have appeared in various magazines and journals. She now lives in New Jersey with her husband and children. Seven Blessings is her first novel.

Review :
"While the machinations of matchmakers have long been a staple of fiction, King's debut novel puts a fresh spin on the subject....King's portrayal of a religious community is as warm and engaging as any in contemporary literature. Her characters jump off the page and into the hearts of her audience...charming, spiritual tale." --Library Journal "A gentle evocation of love and faith in Jerusalem's Orthodox community....King then seems, like a Jewish Jane Austen....Much of the story's strength rises from King's generous description of Jerusalem....A tender enlightening debut that, urban setting aside, reads like a comedy of provincial manners." --Kirkus "Two Orthodox Jewish matchmakers strive busily to marry off their neighbors in this bustling debut novel set in modern-day Jerusalem...her richly detailed descriptions of Jerusalem (the reader can almost smell the falafel frying) and her sympathetic characters make this a fully realized novel." --Publishers Weekly "It shimmers...Its setting is suffused with the glint of Jerusalem light, its characters infused with the city's spirituality....In short, a gem of a novel." --Jewish News of Greater Phoenix "Ruchama King successfully marries the romantic and the religious, the ancient and the modern, in a captivating tale about modern day match-making among the newly pious Americans who have made Israel their home. What I loved most about this spell-binding first novel, was the reader's total immersion in a world of ritual and longing." --Helen Schulman, author of P.S. and The Revisionist "With warmth, wisdom, and an abundance of affection, Ruchama King opens up a fascinating world. Mining the everyday moments of her characters' lives, she expertly explores love and marriage, belief and hope." --Tova Mirvis, author of The Ladies Auxiliary "Arranged marriages will never look the same. Ruchama King transforms the life of Orthodox Jerusalem into the universal terms of love and courtship--and yes, real intimacy and self-fulfillment. A perceptive and charming book." --Risa Miller, author of Welcome to Heavenly Heights "Ruchama King is herself a great matchmaker--between the sensual and the ethereal, between subtle storytelling and startling revelation. Her novel moves with a grace I have not encountered. What a loss it would have been to have never read it, or for her to have never written it." --Stephen J. Dubner, author of Turbulent Souls and Confessions of a Hero Worshipper