Introduction

Thirteen-year-old Elisha lives in a village near Shechem in the Land of Canaan in ancient Israel. She wants to be like other girls but is unmarried, speaks to an angel, and composes and sings her own songs—a pursuit her parents disapprove of. When she tells the village women to stand up for themselves, the men are outraged and the tribe banishes her.

After journeying alone through the desert, escaping bandits, wild animals, and men who would sell her as a servant, Elisha makes it to Jerusalem, where the angel guides her to study with Abraham and Sarah. She learns much including reading and writing, and Abraham even gives her Doron, his servant, to accompany her as she sings her songs throughout the country. Doron becomes her lover and her songs are well accepted—until she sings one about equality for women.

Mountain of Full Moons explores how we overcome our fears, go out into the world, and gain the courage to speak up and be whom we choose to be.

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Excerpt

I dare not move. The hut is dark but I can still feel my mother’s black eyes glaring at me. The sun is not yet up over the horizon

in this Land of Canaan and my father, my Abba, is waiting and must be angry. The men need to make fresh mudbricks for the huts and I promised to bring a basket for them to collect the chaff. Instead, I am forced to sit here and listen to my Ima and her usual long list of complaints. I know them by heart. I sweep the floor, but it is not clean. I am never there to grind the flour and it is not done properly. Even animals will not eat the flatbreads I make, and I do not wear my shawl when I should. The truth is my parents want to keep me from playing my harp and singing. Did they give me grandmother’s harp to stare at? A harp is made to be played and a voice must sing.

My mother is finishing her morning tirade. This daybreak is not much different from any other, but before the sun disappears, my life may never be the same.

It seems like forever before the sun is into its final descent. My last chore is the flour and it is done. If I do not hurry, my parents will send me to help gather the animals. I am disobeying, but the Council of Elder’s meeting is about me. I must attend. The meet- ings are forbidden to women, but I must hear their decision. It is about my future.

Which hand will the council cut off? A picture of my arm, bloody at the wrist, makes me ill. That cannot be their choice. Can it? I am not a thief. The queasiness in my stomach makes my insides quiver. My legs do not want to hold me up. The ends of my curls go into my mouth. Ima is furious if I chew my hair. She says, “A goat in the field looks better than you.”

I climb the rise and hurry to my shrubs. Then rid myself of the shawl. I hate wearing it. The bushes are mine because no other female dares to eavesdrop on the men’s meetings. My favorite spot is not far from here. From there, I gaze down at the thirty-one beehive-shaped huts of my village and a long-ago memory returns. I was young and tried in vain to use all my fingers and toes to count their number. I could not. My parents always tell me how stupid I am.

The faraway noise of men’s voices sends me back to my shrubs. With the shawl under my head, I nestle into the leaves. This gathering will begin soon. My family does not know the many times I listened to other meetings.

The period between light and dark began a while ago and the council fire is already lit. The whole village is aware the flames burn for me. Warm for the season in this northern part of Palestine, the air is overladen with the harsh odor of red-hot wood. The atmo- sphere is heavy, not with rain, but with judgment. The sun heads to its rest, and the stars will soon come out of hiding.

On my knees, I pull the branches aside. The greenery wobbles from my shaking hands. The chief invited the village men to express their concerns. They form the usual half-circle. Those men believe that if they touch me their teeth will fall out, that I consult with dark spirits, that I indulge in conjuring and trickery.

Will the punishment be about talking to the women? Why do men become fearful when we speak up? The first council meeting was at five seasons of growth. My family was shunned, but soon after the council relented. Change is coming.

“Sandalphon, my guide, why are you not here?” “Do not worry, I am always here to help.” Banishment alone in the wilderness is terrifying.

The council members make a second half-circle behind the villagers. Abba might be late. Work must come first. The din of men’s voices grows louder as the Chief of Council nears the circle. His frame is massive and his tunic is the single one draped over the left shoulder and decorated with red and blue threads. His long black hair is fixed in place with a matching cap.

The chief rings the bell. “May I have silence?”

His face is stern. A biting cold comes over me. The villagers relate tales of his compassion, but those piercing black eyes are fright- ening. The gold pendant around his neck sends out flashes of light in the declining sun. His cover is held together with a clasp made of gilt and precious stones. His right thumb lays on top of the clasp.

“Come to order.” He rings again. The mantle he pushes to one side is held on his shoulders with a large red thorn. He sits near the ceremonial bell. “We gather to decide the fate of Galina Bat Shamgar, daughter of Shamgar, who named herself Elisha. We met many times about her. She is now almost thirteen—a woman—and unmarried.” view abbreviated excerpt only...

Discussion Questions

1) Why ancient Palestine? Why set a book during biblical times?
2) Elisha follows her own path despite the harm it might bring her and her family. What's behind this?
3) Elisha is positioned as a feminist some 5,000 years ago. What's different for women today?

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