Women & Talmud, Session 1: Why and How?
Monica Steiner
We’re here to consider how we might approach the Talmud, which was written by men, in a way that acknowledges and even mourns the women’s wisdom that was never recorded in its pages AND also brings us forward towards what I’m calling a more “fully human” tradition.
But of course before we can do that, we need to make sure we understand: what is the Talmud? So we’ll turn to that first, and then we’ll look at some texts and discuss.
1. What is the Talmud?
What replaced the sacrifices after the Temple’s destruction? Study.
And what were they studying? Torah.
The sages’ learning and commentary on Torah was eventually compiled into what we now know as the Talmud.
Other vocabulary you might hear:
The Talmud is now at the core of our tradition, but at the time it was being created, it was revolutionary (and evolutionary).
MOST OF TALMUD LOOKS SOMETHING LIKE THIS...
TEXT 1
Rabbi Eliezar establishes that one may recite the evening Shema [the evening prayer] until the end of the first watch [for our purposes, think of this as a measure of time, like “until 6am”]... Signs of the transition between each of these watches [are]: In the first watch, the donkey brays; in the second, dogs bark; and in the third people begin to rise, a baby nurses from its mother’s breast and a wife converses with her husband…
[And the morning Shema (the morning prayer) is recited at the beginning of the third watch]
What is the practical ramification of this sign? It is relevant to one who recites Shema while lying in a dark house, who cannot see the dawn and who does not know when the time for reciting Shema arrives. The person is provided with a sign that when a woman speaks with her husband and a baby nurses from its mother’s breast, the final watch of the night has ended and he must rise and recite Shema. (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berahkot, 3a)
...AND YET, SOMETIMES WE FIND PARTS LIKE THIS
Text 2
Rabbi Eliezar also said, "Instructing a woman in [Torah] is like teaching her blasphemy,” (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Sota 3:4) and "A woman's wisdom is limited to the handling of the distaff [the spindle used for spinning wool].” (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Yoma 66b)
Questions
What do we do with this Talmud?
Why might we study it?
A MORE FULLY HUMAN TRADITION? TESTING OUR THEORY: BRING IN THE OTHER HALF OF THE JEWISH POPULATION...
Text 3
Ilana Kurshan says, “Perhaps a Jewish woman of the twenty-first century has more in common with a Jewish man of rabbinic times than with his wife -- insofar as one can identify with Talmudic men without conspiring in the oppression of women. After all, women in the Talmud rarely owned property or lived independently, whereas I (and many women like me), earn a salary, have my own apartment, and participate fully in the social and political life of my community. I do not place a premium on virginity or on reproductive capacity [as the sages did in discussing laws regarding marriage, for example]; I value myself far more for the amount of Torah I have mastered. In another era, that would have made me a man.” (p.113)
“By the Talmud’s standards, I am a man rather than a woman -- if a “man” is defined as an independent, self-sufficient adult… [which] was a relief because I could regard the Talmud’s gender stereotypes as historical curiosities rather than infuriating provocations. The Talmud did not offend me because I was defying its classifications through my very engagement with the text. So many of the classical interpretations of the Talmud reflect gendered assumptions, and these texts have the potential to take on radically new meaning when regarded through feminine eyes.” (Ilana Kurshan, p.10 If All the Seas Were Ink. 2017)
Questions
How does Kurshan’s perspective feel to you as a modern response to the Talmud? (Anything still missing for you?)
...APPLYING OUR NEW PERSPECTIVE: CAN WE HELP EACH OTHER OUT?
Text 4
Rabbi Eliezar’s is remembered on his gravestone by his famous saying, "Let the honor of your fellow be as dear to you as your own.'" (Avot 2:10).
Rabbi Natan comments, “This [saying] teaches us that just as no one wants to have a bad reputation, likewise one should not want anyone to tarnish his friend’s reputation.” (emphasis added. Avot D'Rabbi Natan 15:1)
Questions
We will read one of Calderon’s stories next week and see how she does this.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES and further reading:
Reading (books mentioned in our session today):
Back to the Sources, Reading the Classic Jewish Texts, Barry Holtz
If All the Seas Were Ink, Ilana Kurshan
A Bride for One Night: Talmud Tales, Ruth Calderon
Talmud Text Study Opportunities
Hadran -- women studying Talmud https://hadran.org.il/
From Israel. Podcasts, resources in English
NYT Article A Revolution in Jewish Learning, With Women Driving Change
CBB Daf Yomi (“Page a Day”) Talmud Study with Rabbi Stephen Cohen
Sunday nights at 7pm PST
https://zoom.us/j/91966399807?pwd=M1B4UkNqZEtyV1k3Q3h5Mk95OW9wQT09
Meeting ID: 919 6639 9807
Password: 7F6pmn
1 669 900 6833
Meeting ID: 919 6639 9807
Password: 460511
Accessing Talmud Text:
To read the Talmud text online visit the Sefaria website https://www.sefaria.org/texts/Talmud
Hardcopy Talmud (you can buy one tractate at a time). At CBB we read the Koren (publisher) Talmud Bavli, Steinsaltz Edition: https://korenpub.com/collections/the-noe-edition-koren-talmud-bavli-1
More History and Background of Talmud Study:
History of Talmud Study
The Talmud has been studied over the generations for many reasons:
Monica Steiner
We’re here to consider how we might approach the Talmud, which was written by men, in a way that acknowledges and even mourns the women’s wisdom that was never recorded in its pages AND also brings us forward towards what I’m calling a more “fully human” tradition.
But of course before we can do that, we need to make sure we understand: what is the Talmud? So we’ll turn to that first, and then we’ll look at some texts and discuss.
1. What is the Talmud?
-
Historical context: Before 70 CE (Common Era) Judaism was a religion based on animal sacrifices made at the Temple in Jerusalem as the way to commune with God. In 70 CE the Romans destroyed the Temple. This created the question: how can we be Jewish without a Temple and sacrifices?
What replaced the sacrifices after the Temple’s destruction? Study.
And what were they studying? Torah.
The sages’ learning and commentary on Torah was eventually compiled into what we now know as the Talmud.
Other vocabulary you might hear:
-
Mishna -- “recitation,” “restatement,” “recapitulation” (i.e. of the Torah). Earliest generation of rabbinic teachings, completed by 2nd-3rd century CE.
-
Gemara (Aramaic) (also Talmud (Hebrew))-- “study” (i.e. of the Mishna)
-
Talmud refers to both this later generations’ study of the Mishna, and also refers to the full compilation of Mishna and those later teachings (Gemara) that we call the Talmud.
-
Talmud refers to both this later generations’ study of the Mishna, and also refers to the full compilation of Mishna and those later teachings (Gemara) that we call the Talmud.
-
(Tosefta -- Aramaic, supplement: a collection of teachings that didn’t make it into the Mishna. Same time period and earlier than the Mishna itself.)
-
(Baraita -- Aramaic, outside: Other outside teaching that the sages refer to from around the Mishna time period.)
The Talmud is now at the core of our tradition, but at the time it was being created, it was revolutionary (and evolutionary).
-
A precedent from the beginning for new voices in each generation
-
There are two things to consider
-
While women show up in the Talmud rather frequently, it has always been the men who have articulated this tradition (study, teaching, ruling on Jewish law). Women’s wisdom --in our own words--is missing.
-
In this male-dominated space, we often encounter statements and points of view about people who are not Jewish men (women, children, slaves, non-Jews) that offend our modern sensibilities.
-
While women show up in the Talmud rather frequently, it has always been the men who have articulated this tradition (study, teaching, ruling on Jewish law). Women’s wisdom --in our own words--is missing.
-
Our purpose in this group is to grapple with both of these realities. What do we do with the Talmud, how do we connect with a tradition, that is both incomplete and sometimes even offensive? What are our options?
MOST OF TALMUD LOOKS SOMETHING LIKE THIS...
TEXT 1
Rabbi Eliezar establishes that one may recite the evening Shema [the evening prayer] until the end of the first watch [for our purposes, think of this as a measure of time, like “until 6am”]... Signs of the transition between each of these watches [are]: In the first watch, the donkey brays; in the second, dogs bark; and in the third people begin to rise, a baby nurses from its mother’s breast and a wife converses with her husband…
[And the morning Shema (the morning prayer) is recited at the beginning of the third watch]
What is the practical ramification of this sign? It is relevant to one who recites Shema while lying in a dark house, who cannot see the dawn and who does not know when the time for reciting Shema arrives. The person is provided with a sign that when a woman speaks with her husband and a baby nurses from its mother’s breast, the final watch of the night has ended and he must rise and recite Shema. (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berahkot, 3a)
- Blue -- whose teaching/ law are we quoting?
- Red -- what is the content of this teaching/ law?
- Orange -- how do we apply the teaching/ law?
- Green -- discussion by the sages in the study hall
...AND YET, SOMETIMES WE FIND PARTS LIKE THIS
Text 2
Rabbi Eliezar also said, "Instructing a woman in [Torah] is like teaching her blasphemy,” (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Sota 3:4) and "A woman's wisdom is limited to the handling of the distaff [the spindle used for spinning wool].” (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Yoma 66b)
Questions
What do we do with this Talmud?
Why might we study it?
A MORE FULLY HUMAN TRADITION? TESTING OUR THEORY: BRING IN THE OTHER HALF OF THE JEWISH POPULATION...
Text 3
Ilana Kurshan says, “Perhaps a Jewish woman of the twenty-first century has more in common with a Jewish man of rabbinic times than with his wife -- insofar as one can identify with Talmudic men without conspiring in the oppression of women. After all, women in the Talmud rarely owned property or lived independently, whereas I (and many women like me), earn a salary, have my own apartment, and participate fully in the social and political life of my community. I do not place a premium on virginity or on reproductive capacity [as the sages did in discussing laws regarding marriage, for example]; I value myself far more for the amount of Torah I have mastered. In another era, that would have made me a man.” (p.113)
“By the Talmud’s standards, I am a man rather than a woman -- if a “man” is defined as an independent, self-sufficient adult… [which] was a relief because I could regard the Talmud’s gender stereotypes as historical curiosities rather than infuriating provocations. The Talmud did not offend me because I was defying its classifications through my very engagement with the text. So many of the classical interpretations of the Talmud reflect gendered assumptions, and these texts have the potential to take on radically new meaning when regarded through feminine eyes.” (Ilana Kurshan, p.10 If All the Seas Were Ink. 2017)
Questions
How does Kurshan’s perspective feel to you as a modern response to the Talmud? (Anything still missing for you?)
...APPLYING OUR NEW PERSPECTIVE: CAN WE HELP EACH OTHER OUT?
Text 4
Rabbi Eliezar’s is remembered on his gravestone by his famous saying, "Let the honor of your fellow be as dear to you as your own.'" (Avot 2:10).
Rabbi Natan comments, “This [saying] teaches us that just as no one wants to have a bad reputation, likewise one should not want anyone to tarnish his friend’s reputation.” (emphasis added. Avot D'Rabbi Natan 15:1)
Questions
- Using Kurshan’s technique, how might we redeem Eliezar’s words from Text 2?
- Can we view the range of Rabbi Eliezar’s personhood --from his human wisdom (in text 1) to his off-putting views in text 2 ... and ever see him as “a friend”?
- ...Do we want to?
-
What do we lose if we decide to reject this text?
-
What might we gain through choosing to grapple with it?
-
What do we need to add to our tradition in order to do right by our responsibility for stewarding it into the future?
We will read one of Calderon’s stories next week and see how she does this.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES and further reading:
Reading (books mentioned in our session today):
Back to the Sources, Reading the Classic Jewish Texts, Barry Holtz
If All the Seas Were Ink, Ilana Kurshan
A Bride for One Night: Talmud Tales, Ruth Calderon
Talmud Text Study Opportunities
Hadran -- women studying Talmud https://hadran.org.il/
From Israel. Podcasts, resources in English
NYT Article A Revolution in Jewish Learning, With Women Driving Change
CBB Daf Yomi (“Page a Day”) Talmud Study with Rabbi Stephen Cohen
Sunday nights at 7pm PST
https://zoom.us/j/91966399807?pwd=M1B4UkNqZEtyV1k3Q3h5Mk95OW9wQT09
Meeting ID: 919 6639 9807
Password: 7F6pmn
1 669 900 6833
Meeting ID: 919 6639 9807
Password: 460511
Accessing Talmud Text:
To read the Talmud text online visit the Sefaria website https://www.sefaria.org/texts/Talmud
Hardcopy Talmud (you can buy one tractate at a time). At CBB we read the Koren (publisher) Talmud Bavli, Steinsaltz Edition: https://korenpub.com/collections/the-noe-edition-koren-talmud-bavli-1
More History and Background of Talmud Study:
History of Talmud Study
The Talmud has been studied over the generations for many reasons:
-
a way for Jewish communities to determine Jewish law
-
a teaching text for rabinnic training
-
a way to study the Bible
-
a connection to our history
-
Others?
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Covering all 63 tractates (2,711 pages) of the Talmud in a 7 1/2 year cycle. (Talmud is broken into “orders” and each order into “tractates”, loosely by subject)
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Everyone studying Daf Yomi is on the same page each day across the globe.
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Rabbi Meir Shapiro: originator of Daf Yomi, saw practice as
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a unifying force** -- synchronized study over entire globe
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equalizing force -- no longer the purview only of Torah scholars, but for all Jews (though he did not mean women in “all”).
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A way to rejuvenate Talmud, as by the 1920s only a few tractates were regularly studied
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a unifying force** -- synchronized study over entire globe
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Women’s study can be seen as an outgrowth, a natural evolution, of this history of democratizing Talmud from a select few to the masses.
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Woman’s study began roughly over the last 50 years; Hadran since 2018