Bat ha-Levi explained
Bat ha-Levi (12th-century), was an Iraqi Jewish scholar. She gave lessons to male students and had a remarkable position for a Jewish woman in 12th-century Iraq.[1]
Her name is not known, and she is known under the name Bat ha-Levi, meaning 'the daughter of the Levite'. She was the only child of Rabbi Samuel ben Ali (Samuel ha-Levi ben al-Dastur, d. 1194), the Geon of Baghdad.[2] [3] In the Medieval Middle East, education was normally low for Jewish women, but Bat ha-Levi was a famous exception.[4] She was active as a teacher and gave lessons to her father's male students from a window, with her students listening from the courtyard below. This arrangement intended to preserve her modesty as well as prevent the students from being diverted.
A eulogy in the form of a poem by R. Eleazar ben Jacob ha-Bavli (c. 1195–1250), is believed to describe the virtues and wisdom of Bat ha-Levi.
Her activities were reported in the medieval travel diary Petachiah of Regensburg.
She married one of her father's students, Zekharya ben Berakh'el, who died before her father did.
See also
References
- Baskin, J. R. (2012). Educating Jewish Girls in Medieval Muslim and Christian Settings. Making a Difference: Essays on the Bible and Judaism in Honor of Tamara Cohen Eskenazi. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix, 19-37.
- Emily Taitz, Sondra Henry & Cheryl Tallan, The JPS Guide to Jewish Women: 600 B.C.E.to 1900 C.E., 2003
- https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/learned-women-in-traditional-jewish-society
Notes and References
- Book: Taitz . Emily . The JPS Guide to Jewish Women: 600 B.C.E.to 1900 C.E. . Henry . Sondra . Tallan . Cheryl . 2003-02-01 . Jewish Publication Society . 978-0-8276-0752-1 . en.
- Book: Hirschberg, H. Z. (J W.) . A History of the Jews in North Africa: Volume 1 From Antiquity to the Sixteenth Century . 2024-02-26 . BRILL . 978-90-04-67110-2 . en.
- Book: Dubnow, Simon . History of the Jews: From the Roman Empire to the early medieval period . 1967 . Associated University Presse . en.
- Book: Marcus, Ivan G. . Jewish Culture and Society in Medieval France and Germany . 2023-04-14 . Taylor & Francis . 978-1-000-94886-8 . en.
