Beruriah (sometimes also transliterated into English as Beruryah or Bruria) is the only woman Torah scholar mentioned in rabbinic literature. She is traditionally depicted as the daughter of Rabbi Hananiah ben Teradyon (little information is given about her mother) and the wife of Rabbi Meir. Both men were prominent scholars whose teachings are cited frequently in Jewish law and legend. Beruriah and her husband are understood to have lived in the 2nd century CE, in the land of Israel under Roman occupation. Beruriah's father Rabbi Hananiah was killed by the Romans for teaching Torah, along with other great sages of his generation such as Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Gamliel. Despite this repression (or perhaps because of it), Beruriah and Meir continued to teach, growing the nascent rabbinic academies and instructing many students.
Sources: Tal Ilan, "Beruryah," Jewish Women's Archive.
וּמָה בְּרוּרְיָה דְּבֵיתְהוּ דְּרַבִּי מֵאִיר בְּרַתֵּיה דְּרַבִּי חֲנַנְיָה בֶּן תְּרַדְיוֹן, דְּתָנְיָא תְּלָת מְאָה שְׁמַעְתָּתָא בְּיוֹמָא מִתְּלָת מְאָה רַבְּווֹתָא
Berurya, wife of Rabbi Meir and daughter of Rabbi Ḥananya ben Teradyon, was so sharp and had such a good memory that she learned three hundred halakhot in one day from three hundred Sages
הָנְהוּ בִּרְיוֹנֵי דַּהֲווֹ בְּשִׁבָבוּתֵיהּ דְּרַבִּי מֵאִיר וַהֲווֹ קָא מְצַעֲרוּ לֵיהּ טוּבָא. הֲוָה קָא בָּעֵי רַבִּי מֵאִיר רַחֲמֵי עִלָּוַיְהוּ כִּי הֵיכִי דְּלֵימוּתוּ. אָמְרָה לֵיהּ בְּרוּרְיָא דְּבֵיתְהוּ: מַאי דַּעְתָּךְ — מִשּׁוּם דִּכְתִיב ״יִתַּמּוּ חַטָּאִים״, מִי כְּתִיב ״חוֹטְאִים״? ״חַטָּאִים״ כְּתִיב.
There were these hooligans in Rabbi Meir’s neighborhood who caused him a great deal of anguish. Rabbi Meir prayed for God to have mercy on them, that they should die. Rabbi Meir’s wife, Berurya, said to him: What is your thinking? On what basis do you pray for the death of these hooligans? Do you base yourself on the verse, as it is written: “Let sins cease from the land” (Psalms 104:35), which you interpret to mean that the world would be better if the wicked were destroyed? But is it written, let sinners cease?” Let sins cease, is written. One should pray for an end to their transgressions, not for the demise of the transgressors themselves.
בְּרוּרְיָה אַשְׁכַּחְתֵּיהּ לְהַהוּא תַּלְמִידָא דַּהֲוָה קָא גָרֵיס בִּלְחִישָׁה. בְּטַשָׁה בֵּיהּ, אֲמַרָה לֵיהּ: לֹא כָּךְ כָּתוּב ״עֲרוּכָה בַכֹּל וּשְׁמוּרָה״, אִם עֲרוּכָה בִּרְמַ״ח אֵבָרִים שֶׁלְּךָ — מִשְׁתַּמֶּרֶת, וְאִם לָאו — אֵינָהּ מִשְׁתַּמֶּרֶת. תָּנָא: תַּלְמִיד אֶחָד הָיָה לְרַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר שֶׁהָיָה שׁוֹנֶה בְּלַחַשׁ, לְאַחַר שָׁלֹשׁ שָׁנִים שָׁכַח תַּלְמוּדוֹ.
The Gemara relates more of Berurya’s wisdom: Berurya came across a certain student who was whispering his studies rather than raising his voice. She kicked him and said to him: Isn’t it written as follows: “Ordered in all things and secure” (ii Samuel 23:5), which indicates that if the Torah is ordered in your 248 limbs, i.e., if you exert your entire body in studying it, it will be secure, and if not, it will not be secure. The Gemara relates that it was similarly taught in a baraita: Rabbi Eliezer had a student who would study quietly, and after three years he forgot his studies.
Having discussed wise speech and the wisdom of Jewish women, the Gemara cites the following story: Rabbi Yosei HaGelili was walking along the way, and met Berurya. He said to her: On which path shall we walk in order to get to Lod? She said to him: Foolish Galilean, didn’t the Sages say: Do not talk much with women? You should have said your question more succinctly: Which way to Lod?
“Beruriah is characterized by her controversial attitude toward learning. The stories about her in the Talmud suggest that she hungers for Torah; that she is a gifted interpreter of texts; that she recognizes that learning requires the body as well as the mind; that she is sensitive to the human dimension; that she believes strongly in the value of education. As is usually typical of one who is regarded as different in an otherwise homogeneous group, she also displays a sense of humor, a sharp critical stance, and a penchant for subtle irony. It is hard to know whether the coarseness that typifies her in these stories is a fair characterization of Beruria or simply a way the rabbis chose to write about her so as to cast her capabilities in a negative light…she serves as a threat to the social order with her skills, her wit, and her intention to continue in her father’s footsteps" (Calderon, 137)