I love it when March, Adar and Purim coincide. Instead of thinking only about just Esther and Purim, I can celebrate women of valor, not just one woman of valor.

Here’s a quick challenge: how many Jewish women of achievement can you name in one minute? How many Jewish women Nobel Prize winners can you name?

Our little library has over 100 listings for biographical information about women and that doesn’t include reference books.

And, by the way, about 20 Jewish women have won the Nobel Prize. There have been 68 female Nobel laureates. (Marie Curie won twice.) So about 30 per cent of the winners have been Jewish women. Not bad.

Jewish women have achieved in all sorts of fields. They have reached for the stars and explored the oceans; they have excelled in sports and in letters. One Jewish woman even helped write the modern Japanese constitution.

Many have been unsung or cheated out of honors because of the chauvinism, politics and the mores of their time.

Take a look at the book display about some of our Women of Valor. How many are new to you?

Even if your age is well into the double digits, don’t overlook the picture books. Reading a well-written and well-researched picture book is an efficient way to learn something new and the illustrations add interest. information and details. In addition, many short picture book biographies have notes and more in-depth information in the back which expand the basic text.

Here are some of my favorites. There’s even a Ruth on this list, but not the one you might expect.

Aronson, Sarah. Abzuglutely: battling, bellowing Bella Abzug. (1920-1998) Picture book biography of the outspoken politician and women’s rights activist from New York.

Blumenthal, Deborah. Parrots, Pugs and Pixie Dust: a book about fashion designer Judith Leiber (1921-2018) who found her niche as the designer of fantastic and fascinating pocketbooks that are museum-worthy.

Burk, Rachelle. She’s a Mensch: Jewish women who rocked the world. Brief biographies highlighting the accomplishments of some famous and not-so-famous Jewish women of note.

Dubbin, Lori. Perfect Match: Althea Gibson and Angela Buxton. (1934-2020) At first rivals and later partners, Black American champion Althea Gibson and white, Jewish Brit Angela Buxton fought discrimination on the tennis courts.

Henry, Sonia and Emily Taitz. Written Out of History: our Jewish foremothers. Updated in 1990, this book was a seminal work in bringing Jewish women’s accomplishments to light.

Koffsky, Ann. Ping Pong Shabbat: the true story of champion Estee Ackerman. (c.2002) To many of us pingpong is just a basement pastime; for Orthodox 11-year-old Estee it was -and still is- a passion. Now in her 20s, Estee is a potential 2028 Olympic contender as long as tryouts do not take place on Shabbat.

Krasner, Barbara. Goldie Takes a Stand:Golda Meir’s first crusade. (1898-1978) Russian-born and American-raised, Meir’s politicking and outspokenness began in her Milwaukee school.

McCann, Michelle. Luba: the angel of Bergen Belsen.( 1918-2009)  Luba Tryszynska, a prisoner in Bergen Belsen, saved the lives of more than fifty Jewish children in the concentration camp during the winter of 1944/45.

Michelson, Richard. Fanny’s Big Idea: how Jewish Book Week was born. (1895-1961) Fanny Goldstein’s simple celebration of Jewish books in her Boston Public Library has grown into an annual national celebration of Jewish literature.

Samuel, Sigal. Osnat and her Dove: the true story of the world’s first female rabbi. (1590-1670) Osnat was raised to be a scholar since she had no brothers. When both her father and her husband died, she took over both their teaching and the prayer leading duties. She was admired for her scholarship and skill.