Holit Bat-Edit

I felt compelled to write this historical novella as a unique interpretation of Genesis from the Old Testament. My adult life has been consumed with support for women. I co-founded the first women’s shelter in the Middle East – in Haifa, Israel. Following that, I worked at a women’s shelter in Berkeley, California. Over the years, I have worked as a women’s crisis counselor in Israel, Berkeley and Hawaii.

As an artist working in wood and ceramics, I found many of my pieces reflecting ancient women and their roles. My wood sculpture “Naomi and Ruth” was displayed in the Chagall museum in Haifa, Israel. This represented several women’s support issues. It stands for loyalty of one woman to another. It also reflects loyalty to extended families – mother in law to daughter in law. Lastly, the sculpture stands for loyalty between tribes – Naomi, a Hebrew and Ruth from a non-Hebrew tribe.

The information I learned in Israel about ancient times, merged with my artwork in the production of thirteen multimedia shows. In addition, I developed a program to be viewed in four television segments on Hawaii educational TV. All my shows were titled “Biblical Heroines”. I produced a CD-Rom and manuscript of these programs which is registered with the Library of Congress.

With all this information, my time working on archaeological digs, I was compelled to return to my Kibbutz. While there, the story of Rebekah kept echoing inside me. I realized that recognition of her choices, so long ago, determined the untold truth of women…. Their history…. Their strength…their paramount contribution to western civilization as we experience it today. There are too few stories of such magnitude that display such courage for a young Hebrew girl in that ancient era. My role ultimately became more than a writer, I became her. I knew it was time to put it all together, to connect the dots as they say. I returned to my Kibbutz where my Haifa University professor, Temy Goldwasser encouraged me as she had done while I was at Haifa University a life-time earlier!

Now Rebekah’s tale is in your hands, as I sit and wonder ‘what will the readers think’. I encourage you, after reading Wells, Water and Women: Rebekah’s Twelve Tribes, to read Genesis in the Old Testament. Whether we accept the Bible as fact or fiction is totally up to the reader, but the symbolism still exists that Rebekah's decisions changed the Hebrew Tribe. Your comments would be warmly welcome at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it