Thursday, September 4
NOON
Songs for the Broken Hearted
A Novel by Ayelet Tsabari
Facilitator: Debbie Morosohk
1950. Thousands of Yemeni Jews have immigrated to the newly founded Israel. In an overcrowded immigrant camp, a shy young man happens upon Saida, a beautiful girl. In the midst of chaos, they fall in love. But they weren’t supposed to; Saida is married and has a child, and a married woman has no place befriending another man.
1995. Thirty-something Zohara, Saida’s daughter, has been living in New York City—a city that feels much less complicated than Israel, where she grew up wishing that her skin was lighter, that her illiterate mother’s Yemeni music was quieter. She hasn’t looked back since leaving home. But when her sister calls to tell her their mother has died, she gets on a plane to Israel with no return ticket. Soon Zohara finds herself on an unexpected path that leads to shocking truths about her family—secrets that force her to question everything she thought she knew about her parents, her heritage, and her own future.
