Tikvah
Editors’ Pick

March 10, 2025

How the Women of the Talmud Break Literary Molds

Understanding the genius of rabbinic narrative.

To Gila Fine, the vast and varied narrative passages found throughout the Talmud are the Jews’ own Shakespeare—works of “literary genius” that contain “worlds and worlds of drama and passion and conflict and emotion held together in three short lines.” In conversation with J.J. Kimche, Fine explains her method of reading these tales, and her interpretation of the stories concerning such talmudic women as Bruriah and Immah Shalom, or “Mother Peace.” (Audio, 72 minutes.)

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