THE SCROLL

The Scroll is a multi-generational historical novel about the survivors of the famous last stand of the Jewish rebels of Masada against the Roman army. Its story line is drawn from a real archaeological find – the divorce document of a real-life woman named Miriam, issued at Masada. The story begins on Masada’s final, horrific day. Over the three generations that follow, its characters must choose between nation and family, and finally, between life and death. Will they learn the lesson of Masada’s downfall, or will enemies – within and without – rob it from them? Though it deals with events that took place two millennia ago.

The Scroll helps us make sense of the complexities of today’s Israel and the choices its leaders make. It is chock full of meticulously researched, colorful details of ancient daily life, religion, politics and society, which will stir the imagination of readers fascinated by those times.

“The time period of the story contains the seeds of Jewish identity and existence… In clearing away the soil around those seeds, Miriam Feinberg Vamosh has done a great service to help us all understand why we are the people we are today.”

Albert McCarn

The Barking Fox

“Vamosh brilliantly builds on an actual document of divorce recovered through archaeological efforts and weaves a fictional tale rich in detail, with finely drawn characters who lead the reader through the historically real landscape of Roman brutality and a people determined to preserve their legacy for future generations.”

 Judith Ingram

“…Man, woman and child – desperately trying to survive. Miriam Feinberg Vamosh gives them voice…clothes them in folk-memory, and brings them down to eye level where we can tremble in empathy and come away certain that we would recognize them again. And all of this etched with a sure, fine hand. The black-and-white footage of Roman-period “newsreels” is suddenly colored with humanity.”

Mike Rogoff

“This fascinating novel paints a vivid picture of the fractured atmosphere that prevailed in the Land of Israel after the destruction of the Second Temple, during Roman rule. The readers see the struggle of the oppressed Jewish nation and sympathize with both those who are ready to fight the conqueror and those who are resigned to the oppression. The conflict between these two Jewish groups comes to life. The readers also get a tour of the land. Great book! “

Yehudis Litvak

FOOD FOR THOUGHT AND BOOK CLUB DISSCUSSION GUIDE

Your book club friends will thank you for introducing them to a read that brings alive the most significant ancient period in our Judeo-Christian history.

The Scroll shows how Jews and the first Christians responded to Rome’s heavy heel on the Holy Land. You’ll learn through the eyes of Miriam, a survivor of Masada, and her descendants, about the cultures and beliefs of both faiths and how they faced some of their greatest challenges.

While writing The Scroll, I placed myself in that time to discover how I might face those challenges. How would you face them? I believe there are important lessons for today’s Jews and Christians in this story. The questions below are samples from the discussion guide you can download below. As you read The Scroll, on your own or with your book club friends, I hope you’ll find these and the rest of the questions in the guide thought-provoking and enriching.

  • Which group of people in The Scroll do you identify with the most and why—Pharisees, Sadducees, rebels, or Early Christian believers?
  • Find the places in “The Scroll” where early Christians interact with Jews. What do these encounters say about Christians at the time? What do they say about Jews?
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