Miriam Shapira-Luria, also known as Rabbanit Miriam, was a
Talmud
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
ic scholar of the
Late Middle Ages
The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...
. According to academic Lawrence H. Fuchs, she was one of the "most noted" women Talmud scholars.
Family
Miriam Shapira-Luria was born sometime in the 13th,
late 14th or early 15th centuries
in
Konstanz
Konstanz ( , , , ), traditionally known as Constance in English, is a college town, university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the Baden-Württemberg state of south Germany. The city ho ...
, on the southern German border.
Her father was
Rabbi
A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...
Solomon Shapira, a descendant of
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi ().
Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...
, an 11th century commentator.
Shapira-Luria's brother was the noted rabbi,
Peretz of Konstanz.
Her husband, Yochanan Luria
was a rabbi who was known to interpret the Talmud liberally.
Talmud teacher
Shapira-Luria, also known as Rabbanit Miriam,
taught in
Padua
Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...
, Italy.
She conducted a ''
yeshiva
A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...
'' (a higher institution for the study of central Jewish texts) and gave public lectures on Jewish codes of law.
She was thoroughly conversant in
rabbinical writings
Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire corpus of works authored by Rabbi, rabbis throughout History of Judaism, Jewish history. The term typically refers to literature from the Talmud, Talmudic era (70–640 CE), as opposed ...
,
and
Nahida Ruth Lazarus
Nahida Lazarus (born February 3, 1849) was a German people, German–Jewish author, essayist, scholar, and literary critic. She was born in Berlin into a German Christian family. She was married first to Dr. Max Remy (in her writings she stil ...
writes that her "Talmudic disputations with other distinguished scholars of her time created a great sensation."
Female community teachers were rare in Jewish tradition but "not unheard of", according to
Norma Baumel Joseph, who lists as other examples
Huldah
Huldah ( ''Ḥuldā'') is a prophetess mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in and . After the discovery of a book of the Law during renovations at Solomon's Temple, on the order of King Josiah, Hilkiah together with Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan and As ...
,
Bruriah,
Asenath Barzani
Asenath Barzani (, 1590–1670), was a Kurdish Jewish female rabbinical scholar and poet who lived near Duhok, Kurdistan.
Biography
Family background
Asenath was born in 1590 into the Barzani family, a well-known Jewish family in Nor ...
, and
Nechama Leibowitz.
[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.]
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.
Descendants
Shapira-Luria was the ancestress of the Luria rabbinical family,
the grandmother of
Solomon Luria
Shlomo Luria (1510 – November 7, 1573) () was one of the great Ashkenazic ''poskim'' (decisors of Jewish law) and teachers of his time. He is known for his work of Halakha, ''Yam Shel Shlomo'', and his Talmudic commentary ''Chochmat Shlomo''. L ...
(''Maharshal''), a ''
posek
In Jewish law, a ''posek'' ( , pl. ''poskim'', ) is a legal scholar who determines the application of ''halakha'', the Jewish religious laws derived from the written and Oral Torah, in cases of Jewish law where previous authorities are incon ...
'' (
Jewish law
''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mit ...
decisor).
See also
*
Bat ha-Levi
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shapira-Luria, Miriam
German women academics
Talmudists
People from Konstanz