There’s no getting around the fact that the vast majority of the Talmud records the wisdom of male Torah scholars. But there are women as well! Within its pages are a number of remarkable women who earned the respect of the Sages for their erudition, sharp wit, kindness, modesty, or high standing. Read on to meet 12 women who grace the pages of the Talmud.
1. Beruriah
Perhaps the most famous woman in the Talmud is Beruriah, wife of the great Torah scholar Rabbi Meir. A formidable scholar in her own right, her opinion on points of Jewish law is cited twice in the Talmud, and both times, her (male) contemporaries praised her for it.1 The Talmud also shares several pieces of advice she gave,2 painting a picture of a woman with a sharp mind, vast knowledge, and strength of character.
Read: 13 Facts About Beruriah
2. Rachel, Wife of Rabbi Akiva
Rabbi Akiva started out as an unlearned shepherd tending the flocks of the wealthy Kalba Savua. But when Kalba Savua’s daughter, Rachel, noticed how modest and fine a character Akiva had, she offered to marry him, on condition that he go and study Torah. He was 40 years old and had never studied before, yet she was certain that, given the chance, he’d become a great Torah scholar.
When her father found out about the match, he threw Rachel out of his house and cut her out of his estate. She married Akiva anyway, and in time he became one of the greatest scholars of his generation. He later told his students, “Everything that’s mine and yours is really hers!”3
3. Yalta
Yalta was a prestigious woman who is mentioned several times in the Talmud. As the daughter of the Exilarch (the leader of Babylonian Jewry) and the wife of the sage Rav Nachman, she carried significant rank.4 Among other episodes, the Talmud describes how she came to the aid of a pious man mistreated by her father's servants,5 and her care in keeping the laws of family purity.6
4. “Mother” of Abaye
Abaye, one of the greatest scholars of the Talmud, often quoted nuggets of wisdom he’d heard from his mother, mostly having to do with health and medicine.7 But didn’t Abaye’s mother pass away right after he was born? The Talmud explains that this “mother” wasn’t his biological mother, but the woman who raised him.8 Abaye held her in great esteem, valuing her insights and passing them along to others.
Read: The Orphan Sage
5. Kimchit
The Talmud tells of a woman named Kimchit who mothered no fewer than seven sons who all went on to serve as High Priest. Asked what she’d done to merit such distinction, she answered, “Ever since I got married, even the walls of my own home have never seen my hair.”9
(Jewish law requires married women to cover their hair in public or in the presence of others. Kimchit went a step further, covering her hair even in the privacy of her own home.)
Read: A Mother of High Priests
6. Rav Chisda’s Daughter
The Talmud teaches that ever since the Holy Temple was destroyed, “prophecy was taken from the prophets and given over to fools and children.” As an illustration, the Talmud tells of Rav Chisda’s young daughter, who was once sitting on her father’s lap while two of his students sat nearby. Rav Chisda asked her, “Which of these two would you like to marry when you grow up?” “Both!” she answered. And sure enough, she did marry them both—first Rami son of Chama, and after his passing, the renowned sage Rava.10
Elsewhere, the Talmud records various interactions between Rava and his wife, highlighting his trust in her judgment in matters that came before the court11 and in her proficiency in matters related to the kosher laws.12
7. Imma Shalom
Imma Shalom was the sister of Rabban Gamliel, a great scholar and leader of the Jewish people in the early years after the Temple’s destruction. She was also the wife of another towering Talmudic scholar, Rabbi Eliezer.
The Talmud tells how Imma Shalom and her brother Rabban Gamliel teamed up to expose a certain non-Jewish judge for who he really was. Imma Shalom first bribed him with a gold candelabra, and the two then came before him asking him to settle the division of their father’s estate. Just as expected, the judge ruled in her favor. The next day, Rabban Gamliel bribed the same judge with a fine donkey, and the judge promptly reversed his ruling in Rabban Gamliel’s favor. Seeing this, Imma Shalom dropped a not-so-subtle hint: “May your light shine as bright as a candelabra!” To which Rabban Gamliel retorted, “A donkey came and kicked over the candelabra!”13
Imma Shalom was blessed with beautiful children, which she credited to her husband’s modesty in their most intimate moments together.14
8. Wife of Abba Chilkiyah
During a drought, the Jewish community once asked the pious Abba Chilkiyah to pray for rain. He and his wife climbed up to their roof to pray, each standing at an opposite corner. As they prayed, clouds began to gather on the side of the sky closest to his wife.
When asked why his wife’s prayers were answered first, Abba Chilkiyah explained that her merit outweighed his. Both of them gave charity to the poor, but while he gave money, which meant the poor still had to go and buy food with it, she handed out ready-made food that could be eaten right away.15
Read: A Woman’s Charity
9. Wife of Mar Ukva
A similar story is told of the wife of the kindhearted sage Mar Ukva. Every day, Mar Ukva would quietly slip some coins through a hole in the door of a poor man who lived nearby. One day, the poor man caught sight of him and his wife approaching. Not wanting to embarrass the man by being discovered, the couple fled and hid inside an oven that was still warm from use.
Mar Ukva’s feet began to burn from the heat, so his wife told him to stand on top of her feet, which remained unharmed. She then explained why she merited to be spared: since she stayed home, she was more available to help poor visitors, and furthermore, she gave them food rather than money.16
Read: The Wife of Mar Ukva
10. Marta, Daughter of Baytus
Marta was married to Rabbi Yehoshua son of Gamla,17 who is famous for ensuring the survival of Torah learning by setting up schools for children across the Land of Israel. Though exceptionally wealthy, unfortunately Marta met a bitter end: during the Roman siege of Jerusalem, she was reduced to searching the streets for scraps of food, which her delicate constitution couldn’t withstand. The Talmud gives two versions of what was the final straw: either she stepped barefoot on something unclean, or she ate figs that a sick person had already tasted. In her final moments, she threw all her gold and silver into the street and exclaimed, “What do I need all this for?!”18
11. Maidservant of Rabbi Yehuda the Prince
The students of Rabbi Yehuda the Prince learned many pearls of wisdom … from their teacher’s maidservant! Often, when they came across a puzzling word in a Biblical or Mishnaic passage, they’d eventually overhear her use that very word in ordinary conversation, and its meaning would become clear.19
Rabbi Yehuda’s maidservant appears elsewhere in the Talmud too, portrayed as a wise woman whose words and actions earned the respect of the sages.20
12. An Anonymous Hostess
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananyah was famous for his successful debates against the enemies of the Jewish people. Yet he said about himself that no one ever got the better of him except a woman, a young boy, and a young girl.
The incident with the woman happened when he was once staying at a certain inn. For the first two days, he finished his entire plate without leaving anything over, against the common custom of the time. On the third day, his hostess intentionally over-salted his dish, so he pushed it aside, claiming he’d already eaten. “If so,” she replied, “why did you eat the bread? Perhaps you’re making up for not leaving anything over the past two days?” In this way, she taught him, subtly and cleverly, proper table etiquette.
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