Bat ha-Levi

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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.[1]

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.[1]

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.[2][3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Taitz, Emily; Henry, Sondra; Tallan, Cheryl (2003-02-01). The JPS Guide to Jewish Women: 600 B.C.E.to 1900 C.E. Jewish Publication Society. ISBN 978-0-8276-0752-1.
  2. ^ a b Hirschberg, H. Z. (J W. ) (2024-02-26). A History of the Jews in North Africa: Volume 1 From Antiquity to the Sixteenth Century. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-67110-2.
  3. ^ a b Dubnow, Simon (1967). History of the Jews: From the Roman Empire to the early medieval period. Associated University Presse.
  4. ^ Marcus, Ivan G. (2023-04-14). Jewish Culture and Society in Medieval France and Germany. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-94886-8.
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