Last week, I received a suggestion from a Lookjed reader that I consider posting links to the recent Lehrhaus discussion of women and Talmud study, as the articles there would surely be of interest to Lookjed readers. Having done so, I was greeted by a neighbor in shul who said to me: “Really? In the year 2017 we are still discussing this?â€
What I found interesting is that while the opening pieces focused on the history of women’s Talmud study – largely assuming that today we take it for granted – the focus of some of the later articles was how such study could be assured or enhanced.
In fact, discussions like these have appeared in Lookjed over the years, with such titles as:
Gender Differences and Talmud Study (1999)
Teaching Women Torah (1999)
Teaching Talmud to Girls (2000)
The Current State of Women’s Learning (2011)
Women and Talmud Study (2015)
Perhaps in an upcoming Lookjed I will post some excerpts in the context of “Lookjed Classics.â€
One excerpt that I will share here is something that I wrote to the list back in 1999. It was the first year of Lookjed, and I used the platform as an opportunity to introduce myself to Lookjed readers. (I will note that it has been many years now since I taught in Midreshet Lindenbaum. I like to think that my work as Senior Content Editor of the Koren/Steinsaltz English Talmud has kept me involved in Talmud education, even as I now spend little time in formal classroom settings.)
The original post appears at [
listserv.biu.ac.il]
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This topic, which was raised several digests ago but received no response,
is an opportunity for me to say a few words about myself and present my
perspective on the matter.
Aside from my work at the Lookstein Center (which includes moderating this
list), I teach one of the Shiurei Gemara at Midreshet Lindenbaum in
Jerusalem, whose curriculum includes intensive Talmud study for women.
Having taught in co-ed Yeshiva high schools in the US and in both men's
and women's programs here in Israel (and having written my doctoral
dissertation on the effects of Israel study on American high school
graduates), I can attest to the fact that women's desire and ability to
plumb the depths of a sugya match, and, on occasion, exceed, that of their
peers who happened to have been born male. I further believe that analysis
of Torah she'beal peh is, for many people, the single most stimulating
study of Jewish texts, and therefore should be made available to any Jew,
male or female (cf. Rambam, Hilkhot Yesodei HaTorah 4:13).
At the same time, it is difficult (some would say impossible) to succeed
in the study of Gemara if one does not have the ability or desire to spend
the significant amount of time that it takes to become fluent. The
opportunities for women to continue Gemara study on a high level are still
not on par with those of their male counterparts. Preparation for
advancement in any field should be commensurate with reasonable
expectations regarding opportunities in that field.
In short, yes, women in our community should be prepared for and offered
the opportunity to study Gemara. Preparation for continued Gemara study,
however, should not come at the expense of other basic foundation study
in areas where the possibilities of continued higher level learning is
more likely. The work going on today in Israel in Tanakh, for example, is
stimulating, yet some of my students are not prepared to converse
intelligently about the basic story line in Neviim Rishonim. That, of
course, is a whole other discussion.
Shalom Berger
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/2017 08:53AM by mlb.
