Ruby Namdar is an Israeli American author born and raised in Jerusalem to a family of Iranian-Jewish heritage. His first book, Haviv (2000), won the Ministry of Culture’s Award for Best First Publication. His novel The Ruined House (2013, Eng. 2017) won the Sapir Prize, Israel’s most prestigious literary award. He currently lives in New York City with his wife and two daughters and teaches Jewish literature, focusing on biblical and Talmudic narrative.