Osnat Barazani | the world's first female rabbi

Osnat and Her Dove : The True Story of the World's First Female Rabbi, School And Library is written by Sigal Samuel and illustrated by Vali Mintzi. 

book cover (Levine Querido)

Journalist and novelist Sigal Samuel honors her Iraqi Jewish heritage with picture book about Osnat Barazani, the world's first female rabbi who led a sixteenth century Mosul yeshiva for Kurdish Jewry. 

“Almost five hundred years ago, when almost everyone believed in miracles, a baby girl was born in the Middle East. Her name was Osnat. Nobody knew it yet, but she would become the first female rabbi in history.” ~ Sigal Samuel

Very few believed that girls should learn to read. Yet Osnat's father was a great scholar whose house was filled with books. And she convinced him to teach her. Then she in turn grew up to teach others, becoming a wise scholar in her own right, the world's first female rabbi!

Some say Osnat performed miracles &; like healing a dove who had been shot by a hunter! Or saving a congregation from fire!

But perhaps her greatest feat was to be a light of inspiration for other girls and boys; to show that any person who can learn might find a path that none have walked before.

The striking and vibrant storytelling in both words and images of “Osnat and Her Dove” pull young and old readers alike into Osnat’s world.