This is Part One of a two-part series on book banning.

What would Henrietta Szold, the mother of Hadassah, have to say about books being banned? What would she say to the librarians whose lives have been threatened, have been the target of curse words, and lost their jobs and even their health because of people’s perspectives about written words?

A Queen to the Rescue: The Story of Henrietta Szold, Founder of Hadassah is based on the premise that Queen Esther, heroine of the Purim story, was Henrietta’s inspiration. Hadassah is Esther’s Hebrew name and the name of the global volunteer women’s organization inextricably linked with Henrietta Szold.

Recently, through an interlibrary loan, I borrowed this book by Nancy Churnin, who chronicles key events is Szold’s life. Following the story, there are four pages with more facts about Henrietta’s life, information about Purim and a timeline.

For me, the book connected Hadassah’s founder to the inspiring panelists I heard during a recent Hadassah Educators Council program about book banning. Their actions reflect a line in A Queen to the Rescue: “Whenever Henrietta saw a need, she organized and worked until she made a difference.”

The panel discussion included a call for action, so I did a bit of reading about Hadassah, Szold, Queen Esther and book challenges and bans.

Szold, the oldest child in her family, never married or bore her own........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)