Talmud Tora für die Frau: vom «Verbot» zum «Gebot»?

Abstract

Talmud Torah is viewed as a central commandment in Judaism. This paper considers the origins of this mitzvah and focuses on the history of women’s access to Torah study from antiquity to the present. For centuries women were barred from studying the Talmud and other rabbinic literature even though the Mishnah (Sotah 3:4) transmitted conflicting opinions on the propriety of women’s religious education. An analysis of the relevant sources shows that restrictions on women’s Torah study have been rooted to a great extent in social conventions. After tracing the radical shift vis-à-vis women and Talmud Torah that began in the mid-19th century, the paper concludes with an overview of contemporary female Jewish scholars, their professional opportunities, and the impact of expanded access to education on Modern Orthodoxy in the United States and Israel.