By Bianca Seta
As Nachshon fellows this semester, we are given the incredible opportunity to explore Judaism with our peers at The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, a truly special place. Pardes is an open, co-ed and non-denominational Jewish learning community based in Jerusalem where people are able to come and learn in a Bet Midrash setting with top notch Jewish educators. Our weekly Bet Midrash learning at Pardes has exposed me to in depth studying of Jewish texts. Each Nachshon fellow has chosen one of four courses based in different source texts to help us explore our own Jewish identity.
The specific course I am taking, Female Talmudic Heroines, taught by Gila Fine, focuses on analyzing powerful women mentioned in the Talmud. By analyzing the stories in depth, we have explored the misconceptions of women in the Talmud and discovered various interpretations of Talmudic texts in relation to the relevant womens' actions. With the stories we learn, I often have one impression at first glance but after analysis and further learning I come out with a vastly different understanding and appreciation of the story and the woman involved.
Our class begins with a general introduction of the text we will be focusing on along with some background it as well. After we briefly discuss the topic, we split up into chevruta and analyze the text in a more independent setting. After reading and discussing the text with a partner, we return to our classroom and dive right into the content as a class and share our thoughts on anything related to the text itself.
Hearing everyone’s opinions and processing the stories together is such an eye-opening experience. Not only does Gila Fine bring in contemporary sources to our discussions, but the conversations that are had and the intellectual points that are brought up have really changed my thought process when it comes to analyzing Jewish texts.
Aside from the specific topics we discuss in this course, I’m so thankful to be given the exposure to impactful Jewish texts and to be guided by the best Jewish educators in the field.
