Miriam Shapira-Luria

Last updated
Miriam Shapira-Luria
Born
Other namesRabbanit Miriam
Known forWoman Talmudic scholar
SpouseYochanan Luria
ParentSolomon Shapira

Miriam Shapira-Luria, also known as Rabbanit Miriam, was a Talmudic scholar of the Late Middle Ages. According to academic Lawrence H. Fuchs, she was one of the "most noted" women Talmud scholars. [1]

Contents

Family

Miriam Shapira-Luria was born sometime in the 13th, [2] [1] late 14th or early 15th centuries [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] in Konstanz, on the southern German border. [6] Her father was Rabbi Solomon Shapira, a descendant of Rashi, an 11th century commentator. [4] [5] [7] Shapira-Luria's brother was the noted rabbi, Peretz of Konstanz. [7] Her husband, Yochanan Luria [4] was a rabbi who was known to interpret the Talmud liberally. [1]

Talmud teacher

Shapira-Luria, also known as Rabbanit Miriam, [3] taught in Padua, Italy. [8] She conducted a yeshiva (a higher institution for the study of central Jewish texts) and gave public lectures on Jewish codes of law. [5] [6] She was thoroughly conversant in rabbinical writings, [7] and Nahida Ruth Lazarus writes that her "Talmudic disputations with other distinguished scholars of her time created a great sensation." [9] Female community teachers were rare in Jewish tradition but "not unheard of", according to Norma Baumel Joseph, who lists as other examples Huldah, Bruriah, Asenath Barzani, and Nechama Leibowitz. [10]

Shapira-Luria was also known for her beauty, and she taught Talmud to elite young men from behind a curtain so that they would not get distracted by her appearance. [3] [6]

Descendants

Shapira-Luria was the ancestress of the Luria rabbinical family, [7] the grandmother of Solomon Luria (Maharshal), a posek (Jewish law decisor). [4]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Fuchs, Lawrence H. (2000). Beyond Patriarchy: Jewish Fathers and Families. University Press of New England. p. 68. ISBN   978-0-87451-941-9.
  2. Henry, Sondra; Taitz, Emily (1978). Written out of History: A Hidden Legacy of Jewish Women Revealed Through Their Writings and Letters . Bloch Publishing Company. p.  87.
  3. 1 2 3 Eisenberg, Joyce; Scolnic, Ellen (2001). The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words. Jewish Publication Society. p. 114. ISBN   978-0-8276-0723-1.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Brayer, Menachem Mendl (1986). The Jewish Woman in Rabbinic literature, Volume 1. Ktav Publishing House. pp. 104, 113. ISBN   978-0-88125-072-5.
  5. 1 2 3 Rubin-Schwartz, Shuly (2006). The Rabbi's Wife: The Rebbetzin in American Jewish Life. New York University Press. p. 12. ISBN   978-0-8147-4016-3.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Karpeles, Gustav (1895). Jewish Literature, and Other Essays. Jewish Publication Society. p.  117. miriam shapiro.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Papers Read Before the Jews College Literary Society During the Session 1886-7. The Jewish Chronicle. 1887. p.  86. miriam schapira.
  8. Taitz, Emily; Henry, Sondra (1996). Remarkable Jewish Women: Rebels, Rabbis, and Other Women from Biblical Times to the Present . Jewish Publication Society. p.  42. ISBN   978-0-8276-0573-2.
  9. Remy, Nahida (1916). The Jewish Woman. Bloch Publishing Company.
  10. Baumel Joseph, Norma. "The Feminist Challenge to Judaism: Critique and Transformation", in Joy, Morny; Neumaier-Dargyay, Eva K.; Gerhart, Mary (1995). Gender, Genre and Religion: Feminist Reflections. Wilfrid Laurier University Press. p. 63.