“One of the great Talmud teachers of our time.
It’s vitally important the Jewish world hear
what Gila Fine has to say.”
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
About
Gila Fine is a lecturer of rabbinic literature at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, exploring the tales of the Talmud through philosophy, literary criticism, psychoanalysis, and pop-culture. She serves on the faculties of the Nachshon Project, Amudim Seminary, the Tikvah Scholars Program, the London School of Jewish Studies, the Community Scholars Program, and WebYeshiva, and has taught thousands of students at conferences, campuses, and communities across the Jewish world.
As editor in chief of Maggid Books, Gila worked closely with such leading scholars as Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz and Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, publishing over a hundred titles of contemporary Jewish thought, including several bestsellers and eight National Jewish Book Award winners. She is also the former editor of Azure: Ideas for the Jewish Nation. Her work has been featured in the BBC, Haaretz, The Jerusalem Post, The Jerusalem Report, Tradition Journal, Jewish News, and The Jewish Chronicle (which selected her as one of the ten most influential Brits in Israel). Haaretz has called her “a young woman on her way to becoming one of the more outstanding Jewish thinkers of the next generation.”
What People Say…
“Gila Fine is one of the great Talmud teachers of our time. It’s vitally important that the Jewish world hear what she has to say.”
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
“A fascinating look at the women who make their own way in the world of the rabbis. Fine masterfully peels away the patriarchal veneer of their stories to reveal their hidden light.”
Rabbi Dr. Binyamin Lau
“A dazzling exploration of the portrayal of women throughout history – from Greek mythology to Hollywood movies – bringing the talmudic text to life for the contemporary reader.”
Dr. Aliza Lavie
“Gila Fine’s sophisticated use of literary and cultural theory produces novel readings of talmudic stories. Her exquisite prose, profound analysis, and comprehensive knowledge of rabbinic texts make each chapter a delight to read.”
Professor Jeffrey Rubenstein
“In The Madwoman in the Rabbi’s Attic, Gila Fine uses her considerable creativity, originality, and fine literary skills to elucidate talmudic tales, making them more poignant and meaningful.”
Dr. Erica Brown
“An original feminine reading of the Talmud, restoring the lost voices of women
Dr. Ruth Calderon
Eyes That Cannot See, Lips That Cannot Speak: A Tragedy of Rabbinic Rivalry
Why does Torah study turn friends into enemies? What are the three fatal flaws of a rabbi? And how does a great rosh yeshiva end up killing the best student he ever had? Exploring the tragedy of R. Yohanan and R. Kahana though the Midrash and Talmud, Somerset Maugham and José Saramago, Martin Buber and Adin Steinsaltz.
Mirror, Mirror in the Temple: A Tale of Love and Liberation
Why is the Bible so afraid of love? Who were the lovers who saved the Jewish People? And how do the rabbis deconstruct one of the greatest myths of their time? A reading of Midrash Tanhuma Pekudei 9, through Ovid and Maharal, the Brothers Grimm and Jacques Lacan, George Orwell and Erich Fromm.
Like a Moth to a Flame: The Danger of Rabbinic Transgression
What makes rabbis so often fall into scandal? Can women prefer Torah to family life? And why does R. Meir allow a female congregant to spit in his face? A reading of PT Sotah 16:4, through Maimonides and Menachem de Lonzano, Ruth Calderon and Michelle Friedman, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Rabbi X.
“That Day His Soul Rested”: The Mercy Killing of Rebbe
Does the Talmud allow euthanasia? What happens when angels and mortals go head to head? And how does one broken jar cause the death of the great Rebbe? A reading of Ktubot 104a, through the Shulhan Arukh and Sefat Emet, Iggrot Moshe and Tzitz Eliezer, Carol Gilligan and Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Abraham Joshua Heschel and Brittany Maynard.
When Rav Met Shmuel: A Chronicle of Rabbinic Hazing
What caused the political feud between the rabbis of Israel and Babylon? How, according to the Talmud, does one contract bowel disease? And why does Shmuel cruelly humiliate the man who would become his lifelong hevruta, the great Amora, Rav? Exploring the grotesque tale of Rav’s immigration to Babylon, through the Talmud and Midrash, the Geonim and Rishonim, Mikhail Bakhtin and Daniel Boyarin, Joseph B. Soloveitchik and Avraham Steinberg.
Unmasking the Women of the Talmud: The Tragedy of Heruta
Why are women divided into saintly and seductive? How does a married couple go for years without intimacy? And why must the wife dress up as a prostitute to show her husband who she really is? The domestic drama of R. Hiyya and his wife, read through Demosthenes and Nahmanides, Sigmund Freud and Oscar Wilde, Immanuel Kant and Martin Buber, Ruth Calderon and Mad Men.
Blind Date, Blind Faith, Blind Love: A Tale of a Mole and a Well
Who are the men of faith? What happens when you agree to marry someone you’ve never seen? And how do a mole and a well come to save a marriage? An exploration of the greatest love story of the Talmud, spanning the Bavli and Yerushalmi, the Brothers Grimm and William Shakespeare, Søren Kierkegaard and Thomas Hardy, Martin Buber and Erich Fromm.
Back to the Future: The Day Moshe Failed His Torah Class
Is Torah a product of divine revelation or human innovation? What happens when the receptivity of Moshe meets the creativity of R. Akiva? And why is Moshe told to “turn back” when going into the future? A postmodern reading of Menakhot 29b, traversing the Talmud and Midrash, Baal HaTanya and R. Nachman, Oscar Wilde and William James, Roland Barthes and Michel Foucault, Walter Benjamin and Emmanuel Levinas.
The Madwoman in the Rabbi’s Attic: The Tale of Yalta the Shrew
Why are shrews always so vicious? How did the ancient world view the male/female body? And what possessed Yalta to smash 400 bottles of her husband’s wine? The comic tale of Yalta, read through Aristotle and Euripides, William Shakespeare and William Congreve, Charlotte Brontë and Jean Rhys, Adrienne Rich and R. Kook.
The Man who Made It Rain: The Rise and Fall of Honi the Circle Drawer
Why do miracle-workers draw circles? When does prayer become witchcraft? And how does the greatest rainmaker of his time come to die of unbearable loneliness? An intertextual journey through the Bible and Midrash, Hippocrates and Josephus, Nahmanides and the Vilna Gaon, Nietzsche and Agnon, Heschel and Buber, trying to make sense of one of the most poignant stories of the Talmud.
