Press
So dramatic and cathartic… Gila Fine’s work is what you get when women study and teach Talmud: unbelievable, incandescent, astonishing teachings that bring us closer to the text, and to understanding ourselves, our people, our history, and how to be better human beings in this very unpleasant world. On a scale of six named women with storylines, I give this book a perfect 10. (Miriam Anzovin) >>
Press
Three days before her 12th birthday, Gila Fine found herself alone in her grandparents’ London home with a pile of books and a directive to write her bat mitzvah speech. Unsure where to start, she opened the “Book of Legends” to the section titled “Women.” A few stories in, she burst into tears. The women in the stories were weak, irrational, greedy and vain…. However, instead of writing off Jewish academia forever, Fine dug deeper and, with her new book, invites others to do the same. (The Times of Israel) >>
Online Lecture
How does the Talmud portray its heroines? Why are they never as they first seem? And what does this tell us about the rabbis’ views of marriage, sex, childbirth, and what it means to be a woman in the world? Gila Fine sits down with Rabbi Dr. Shai Cherry to discuss her new book on the six named heroines of the Talmud. (Community Scholars Program) >>
“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.
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.
“Heavens Give Me Patience”: Rabbi Yishmael, King Lear, and the Divine Tragedy
What’s the difference between the God of the Bible and the God of the Talmud? Who was the last man to see God? And how do we balance love and fear in our relationship with the Divine?
Exploring the omnipotence and vulnerability of God, through the talmudic tale of Rabbi Yishmael and King Lear.
Insidious Mother, Irresistible Murderess: The Righteous Temptress of the Bible
Why does the Bible always effect redemption through sexual transgression? Who are the women who seduce and redeem? And how do they tempt their prey? Exploring the stories of the six righteous temptresses through the Bible and Midrash, Bavli and Yerushalmi, Victor Turner and Simone de Beauvoir, Rabbi Soloveitchik and Game of Thrones.
“In the End of Days There Will Be No Death”: The Rabbi who Fooled the Grim Reaper
Is it fair to quarantine the contagiously ill? How does one identify a leper? And what happens when R. Yehoshua tries to disarm the Angel of Death? A reading of Ktubot 77b, through Michel Foucault and Susan Sontag, Rav Kook and R. Aryeh Levine, Monty Python and R. Sacks, José Saramago and Kaci Hickox.
Like a Dream: Honi the Supersleeper and the Utopian Fantasy
Why does every culture have a story of a hero who sleeps for years and wakes up to a utopian world? How does the Talmud rewrite this legend? And what does this subversion tell us of the rabbinic view of redemption? Exploring the legend of Honi the supersleeper through the Mishna and Talmud, Epimenides and the Seven Sleepers, King Arthur and Frederick Barbarossa, Rip Van Winkle and William Guest.
Dangerous Beauty: The Trial of the Black Widow of Mehoza
Why are so many pious men seduced by the sight of a beautiful woman? How many husbands must a woman lose before it becomes forbidden to marry her? And what causes the newly widowed Homa to be driven out of town? The tragedy of Homa, read through the Bible and Talmud, Homer and Spenser, Keats and Wilde, Simone de Beauvoir and Jessica Rabbit.
Press
So dramatic and cathartic… Gila Fine’s work is what you get when women study and teach Talmud: unbelievable, incandescent, astonishing teachings that bring us closer to the text, and to understanding ourselves, our people, our history, and how to be better human beings in this very unpleasant world. On a scale of six named women with storylines, I give this book a perfect 10. (Miriam Anzovin) >>
Press
Three days before her 12th birthday, Gila Fine found herself alone in her grandparents’ London home with a pile of books and a directive to write her bat mitzvah speech. Unsure where to start, she opened the “Book of Legends” to the section titled “Women.” A few stories in, she burst into tears. The women in the stories were weak, irrational, greedy and vain…. However, instead of writing off Jewish academia forever, Fine dug deeper and, with her new book, invites others to do the same. (The Times of Israel) >>
Online Lecture
How does the Talmud portray its heroines? Why are they never as they first seem? And what does this tell us about the rabbis’ views of marriage, sex, childbirth, and what it means to be a woman in the world? Gila Fine sits down with Rabbi Dr. Shai Cherry to discuss her new book on the six named heroines of the Talmud. (Community Scholars Program) >>
Article
Why does every culture have a story of a hero who sleeps for years and wakes up to a utopian world? How does the Talmud rewrite this legend? And what does this subversion tell us of the rabbinic view of redemption? Exploring the legend of Honi the supersleeper through the Mishna and Talmud, Epimenides and the Seven Sleepers, King Arthur and Frederick Barbarossa, Rip Van Winkle and William Guest. (Tradition) >>
Press
Fine is fast becoming one of the most fascinating teachers in the field. “These narratives are often deliberately misleading,” Fine says. “We need to be incredibly sensitive to each word so we can unpack the meaning.” The reason for this, she believes, is to teach readers to be careful when they dissect “reality.” The very act of reading Talmudic stories makes us into better individuals: more humble, more moral, more understanding. (The Jerusalem Report) >>
Press
Not everyone believes the test is a good idea. “It’ll create an impression that a woman who finds her way onto a source sheet hasn’t done so because she is brilliant and erudite and profound but because of positive discrimination,” said Gila Fine. “Women have earned their place fair and square in the world of aggadah. They’re two steps behind in the world of halacha, and they’ll get there, but this shortcut will hurt them in the long run.” (Jewish Telegraphic Agency) >>
Online Lecture
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 tragedy of Heruta, read through the Bible and Midrash, Homer and Dante, Kant and Wilde, Freud and Hitchcock. (National Library of Israel) >>
Article
To understand the significance of Sukkot – the holiday and the habitat – we must explore the development of biblical architecture. (The Jerusalem Post) >>
Online Lecture
What’s the difference between the God of the Bible and the God of the Talmud? Who was the last man to see God? And how do we balance love and fear in our relationship with the Divine? Exploring the omnipotence and vulnerability of God, through the talmudic tale of Rabbi Yishmael and King Lear. (Community Scholar Program) >>
Press
“Behind the majesty and grander, the profound philosophy and inspiring Torah, the booming voice and yellow ties, there was a man.” (The Jerusalem Report) >>
Article
The moral trajectory of Moses, his development as a man and leader, can be traced in the ongoing struggle between his mighty hand and his slow tongue. (The Jerusalem Post) >>
Press
“Rabbi Sacks knew what it meant to be human. I think we sometimes forget that he was, underneath it all.” (Jewish News) >>
Article
And so, as we enter the two holiest points of the Jewish year, with the last of our strength, we stand and declare: “Kol nidre.” “Kol hamira.” All the promises I haven’t kept. All the hametz I haven’t burned. May they be null and void. Like the dust of the earth. (The Jerusalem Post) >>
Press
“God was, for RS, first and foremost a relationship. Not an abstract philosophical concept or theological article of faith or biblical character or remote diety; but a very real, very personal, very intimate relationship we each of us have in our lives.” (The SA Jewish Report) >>
Press
A young woman who is on her way to becoming one of the more outstanding Jewish thinkers of the next generation. Fine, who makes it look chic to be frum, can give over a shiur – as they say in these parts, referring to a talk interpreting religious texts – which sends heads scrambling to keep up. One to watch in the years to come.
(Haaretz) >>
Press
Gila Fine is part of a growing stream of Orthodox women who are not only studying, but embracing and teaching, the Talmud. “I first discovered Talmud as a forbidden text. I grew up in a conservative religious environment, where it was strongly believed that women cannot study Talmud. At 17, I pulled a volume of Talmud off my father’s bookshelf, and just stood there, waiting for the lightning bolt to strike me down.” (BBC Radio4) >>
