Books

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When 18-year-old Daniel is abducted by Sicarii assassins and taken to their walled fortress of Masada, he's forced to let go of the Jewish Law he's learned from his parents and to adopt his kidnappers' code of violence and thievery, simply to stay alive.

Wracked with guilt but determined to survive, Daniel becomes part of the Sicarii culture, even marrying one of their soldier's sisters. Between violent raids against neighboring settlements to prevent starvation and being called upon to commit suicide along with all the other Sicarii residents rather than be enslaved by invading Roman forces, Daniel is faced with choice after choice that test his character, strength, and resolve and push him to discover the kind of man he wants to be.

Set against the backdrop of the last confrontation between the Jews and Romans during the Second Temple period, author Shimon Avish masterfully weaves together history and his real-life experiences in the army and as a kibbutznik, bringing to life a painful chapter in Jewish history through the eyes of young Daniel. 

 It is 70 C.E., and the Roman commander, Titus Flavius Vespasianus, and his legions have arrived at the walls of ancient Jerusalem. Three Jewish factions opposing them are each led by a charismatic leader more interested in being recognized as the Messiah than protecting their people from the consequences of standing up to Roman power. 

The Rebel's Niece is the story of Sarah, whose uncle, Yochanan, is one of the messianic leaders, and she cannot help but wonder whether God actually commanded Yochanan to free the Jewish people from the Romans, as he claims.

Orphaned as a child, Sarah was saved by her uncle when marauders invaded their village and killed her parents. Now that she is a wife and mother with two daughters, she wants her children to grow up without the horrors she experienced as a young girl. But is it possible, given the turbulent times she lives in? With a Roman legion chasing them from their village in Galilee, Sarah's fellow townsfolk, led by her uncle, escape to Jerusalem, where her uncle intends to become the leader of the rebel forces and free Jerusalem and Israel from Roman occupation.

Once there, Yochanan wends his way into a position of leadership based on claims that God commanded him to expel the Romans from Israel, but Sarah begins to doubt his honesty as he leads his followers from disaster to disaster. Will Sarah challenge the veracity of her uncle? Will it be in time? 

Jewish history is replete with incredible stories, but so many of us don't know them. Short of spending time reading the bible, how could we? Therefore, we are developing a series of historical fiction novels on significant events in ancient Jewish history, including the following books to begin with:

• Rededication: The Hanukkah Story
• The Rebel's Niece (First Jewish–Roman War – 66-70 CE)
• Masada: Thou Shalt Not Kill (First Jewish–Roman War – 66-70 CE)
• The Second Jewish Rebellion Against Rome (Kitos War – 115–117 CE)
• The Third Jewish Rebellion Against Rome (Bar Kokhba Revolt – 132–135 CE)

These books tell stories of specific events, but they also have a point of view regarding the morality of the issues found in the books from a universal perspective. Masada: Thou Shalt Not Kill looks at the use of violence and whether it is ever acceptable to resort to violence to solve intractable problems. It also explores how perpetrating violence affects the wrongdoer and how being powerful enough to end a life changes people in ways they cannot anticipate.