Women of the Book: Biblical Women in History, Memory and Ritual Life

The phenomenon of women interpreting the Bible and applying it to their own lives is not new, but the study of the way ancient Jewish women ritualized biblical stories and enacted Judaism apart from the rabbinic norms is only beginning. In this lecture, Mika Ahuvia shares recent contributions to the study of Jewish women’s history, ritual and memorialization of the past through the examples of lesser-known biblical figures like the daughter of Jephthah and more well-known heroines like Miriam and Esther. Free.

Presented by the Department of Jewish Studies as part of the Fall 2020 Lectures in Jewish Studies. Co-sponsored by the Classics Department and the Jewish Community Library.

Mika Ahuvia

Mika Ahuvia is an assistant professor of classical Judaism at the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at University of Washington.

Her book “On My Right Michael, On My Left Gabriel: Angels in Ancient Jewish Culture” (University of California Press, 2021) argues that conceptualizations of angels were foundational to ancient Jewish practice. She also co-edited the volume “Placing Ancient Texts: The Rhetorical and Ritual Use of Space” (Mohr Siebeck, 2018) and has published book chapters and articles on ancient ritual-magic, gender and rabbinic literature and late antique archaeology, among other areas of interest.