הקדמה בספר "הבוסתן" מתורגמת לאנגלית על-ידי שירלי גנור
Introduction
by Shmuel Moreh
These stories were written at a critical stage in the life of the author, Sigal Shapira, z”l (1940-2003). Born in Baghdad, she immigrated to Israel at a young age, however the memories of her childhood in Iraq in the heart of a loving and well-to-do family and then the pangs of absorption in a transit camp never left her memory. Upon her arrival in a new country, with a different mentality and culture, she succeeded in building Israeli roots. She completed her high school studies in the New High School in northern Tel Aviv, making her way each day from the transit camp to the big city. A number of her classmates grew to prominence in the Israeli culture, law and public.
Sigal loved the Hebrew language and avidly read many books in various fields. However she did not forget her native language, Arabic. In her home they continued to speak Arabic and to listen to the media in Arabic. She knew how to read and write not only literary Arabic but also Arabic in the Palestinian and Egyptian dialects, from listening to radio and television programs.
After graduating from high school, she completed studies for a teaching certificate in the Levinsky Seminar, and in the 1980’s she completed her studies in the fields of Hebrew Language and Administration in Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. All through the years she taught and worked diligently to raise a family of four fine children.
When she took early retirement she began to realize her intense desire to write. She emphasized repeatedly that only if she felt that her writing was of very high quality would she decide to publish her works. She was able to put on paper only a few of the many topics she wanted to write about: childhood memories, phenomena of force and hooliganism in Baghdad, the hardships of the transit camp and the pangs of absorption, dealing with society, work and the immediate and expanded family which changed its appearance immeasurably, and the life of a woman in general and an oriental one in particular, while relating especially to male chauvinism, etc., etc. She relates to all of these with an optimistic and sensitive philosophical outlook on life, without complaints, despite the fact that things were not rosy at all.
The images active in her stories are mainly women of strong character, dealing with life crises throughout history in different forms. The author is reflected through those images, despite the hardships, they are not bitter, they look to the past with tranquility and from a human, philosophical and cultural point of view. Only such heroes succeed in meeting the cultural, social, and political crises that they are sucked into, together with the tremor which passed through the family unit in the society of immigrants.
Her style is very much to the point in its heartwarming simplicity, with depth of soul and sharp insight about life. Her few and wonderful stories found their place in excellent literary forums, whose editors asked for more of her works. It is a pity that Sigal did not complete her writings. A cruel fate cut short a rare and unique literary talent.
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