Biblical Women: Emerging from the Margins through Midrash – Course Description

Tracing major female figures of the Bible through classic and modern midrashic commentary, we meet a dazzling line up of more than a dozen biblical heroines—some you may know and some you may have never heard of! Let’s go behind the scenes to gain multiple perspectives on their lives, relationships, and choices, as we understand their roles in Jewish history and literature as full, well-rounded characters.

 In this ten-lesson course, learners will delve into exploring some of the major female figures of the Bible. By utilizing the midrash’s strategy that reads texts very closely, the “unwritten complexities and nuances” will be uncovered—clarifying issues that are seemingly unaddressed in the biblical text but can be found when looking for textual hints.  Learners will discover how the form and content of midrash changes as contemporary writers and artists add their interpretations to ancient traditions. In the fertile ground of midrashic study, these biblical women emerge from the margins of the biblical text becoming full characters whose legacies guide and inspire.

This course is extraordinary in that it has pulled together two incredibly compelling aspects:

1. The midrashim and stories of the particular women who have been chosen for the course are truly fascinating. From Eve/Chava, Sarah, Lot’s Wife, Rivkah, Rachel, Leah, Serach, Dvora, Chana and the brave women from the Exodus, we learn how we integrate their wisdom into our lives today.

2. The tools for deconstructing the Midrashim are ingeniously constructed. The principles of textual analysis that will be given over to you in this course is relevant for those engaged in ANY form of reading, learning, writing, critical thinking or teaching.

The analysis of the Midrashim will WOW you because it deals with even the minor personalities in such a comprehensive way.

We invite you to come along for this journey.

Please click HERE to watch a short introductory video clip

Table of Contents:

Lesson 1 Biblical Women and Midrash:

Lesson 2 Chavah (Eve): Choice and Destiny

Lesson 3 Sarah: Hidden and Revealed

Lesson 4 Lot’s Wife and Daughters: Mortality and Eternity

Lesson 5 Rivkah (Rebecca): Continuity and Rupture

Lesson 6 Rachel and Leah: Sisters and Rivals

Lesson 7 Serach bat Asher: Memory and Invention

Lesson 8 Women of the Exodus: Resistance and Revelation

Lesson 9 Devorah: Prophecy and Power

Lesson 10 Chanah: Anguish and Grace