Sarah Bas Tovim (lived in the late 17th and early 18th centuries) was a Ukrainian Jewish woman, author of Shloshe Shearim ("Three Portals") the most widely circulated of the tkhines, Yiddish-language prayer booklets intended mainly for Jewish women.[1] Dovid Katz refers to Sarah as Sora bas Toyvim and refers to another of her works that have survived, Sheker ha-kheyn.[2]
Born in the small town of Satanov in the Podolia region of Ukraine, she claimed descent from Rabbi Mordechai of Brisk.[1]
Shloshe Shearim, written toward the end of her life, is a cautionary tale based on her own life. She tells of herself as a vain young woman, who came to the synagogue wearing jewels and gossiping and jesting during services, and of how she spent a sad life as a wanderer.[1]
Bas Tovim herself became a figure of Jewish legend, such as the story "Der Zivug" by I.L. Peretz, in which Bas Tovim is given hospitality and leaves behind a pair of golden slippers that eventually lead a young man to his proper bride.[1]
Because Bas Tovim was so well known, many Maskilim during the 19th century attached her name to tkhines they created.[3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d Liptzin, Sol, A History of Yiddish Literature, Jonathan David Publishers, Middle Village, NY, 1972. ISBN 0-8246-0124-6. pp.16-17.
- ^ Katz, Dovid (2007). Words on Fire: The Unfinished Story of Yiddish (2 ed.). New York: Basic Books. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-465-03730-8.
- ^ "Sarah Bas Tovim". Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved 2021-11-01.