What does Piluta mean? Transcribing Esther, by Rabbi Barkin

What does Piluta mean? Transcribing Esther, by Rabbi Barkin

By Jeff Denaburg

What does Piluta mean? I searched Hebrew dictionaries and the internet, but couldn’t find a mention of the Hebrew word piluta.

When you’re translating a book from Hebrew to English, you want to convey the exact meaning of the original. You want to know what the author was thinking when they wrote each sentence. So every word is important.

Fortunately, in translating the historical novel, Esther, I had the benefit of being able to consult the author, Rabbi Nir Barkin.

Nir Barkin is the Senior Rabbi at Kehilat Yozma in Modi’in, Israel, and also a friend of Holy Blossom Temple. His autobiographical fiction describes his colourful Sephardi and Ashkenazi ancestry. The story is personal, but also a history of the Zionist journey and creation of the State of Israel. It paints a vivid picture of life in Jerusalem in the years before and after Israel’s independence. And there’s a twist, a family secret that the author uncovers over the course of the story.

We published an English version of his novel because Nir has many friends in North America who are interested in reading it.

Esther is now available in our Judaica Shop, run by the Women of Holy Blossom.