Unmasking the Women of the Talmud: The Tragedy of Heruta

Why are women universally divided into saintly and seductive, pure and promiscuous, maternal and immoral? How does a married couple go for years without a moment’s intimacy? And why must the wife dress up as a prostitute to show her husband who she really is?

Reading the tragedy of Heruta in light of archetypal criticism and contemporary psychoanalysis, we will explore the psychological subtleties of this extraordinary talmudic tale, revealing a surprising rabbinic critique of the age-old madonna/whore paradigm.

Gila Fine, The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies

Gila Fine is editor in chief of Maggid Books (Koren Publishers Jerusalem). She is also a teacher of Aggada, exploring the tales of the Talmud through philosophy, literary criticism, psychoanalysis, and pop-culture. Gila is faculty member at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, the London School of Jewish Studies, the Nachshon Project, and the Bronfman Fellowship, and has taught thousands at conferences and communities across the Jewish world. Haaretz has called her “a young woman on her way to becoming one of the more outstanding Jewish thinkers of the next generation.”

Sunday, 24 October, 8 pm Israel / 6 pm UK / 1 pm EST

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Unmasking the Women of the Talmud: The Tragedy of Heruta

Why are women universally divided into saintly and seductive, pure and promiscuous, maternal and immoral? How does a married couple go for years without a moment’s intimacy? And why must the wife dress up as a prostitute to show her husband who she really is?

Reading the tragedy of Heruta in light of archetypal criticism and contemporary psychoanalysis, we will explore the psychological subtleties of this extraordinary talmudic tale, revealing a surprising rabbinic critique of the age-old madonna/whore paradigm.

Gila Fine, The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies

Gila Fine is editor in chief of Maggid Books (Koren Publishers Jerusalem). She is also a teacher of Aggada, exploring the tales of the Talmud through philosophy, literary criticism, psychoanalysis, and pop-culture. Gila is faculty member at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, the London School of Jewish Studies, the Nachshon Project, and the Bronfman Fellowship, and has taught thousands at conferences and communities across the Jewish world. Haaretz has called her “a young woman on her way to becoming one of the more outstanding Jewish thinkers of the next generation.”

Sunday, 24 October, 8 pm Israel / 6 pm UK / 1 pm EST

‍