Tractates Tamid, Middot and Qinnim

Dalia Marx provides a general introduction and feminist commentary on the last three tractates of the order of Qodashim. Each tractate deals with different aspects of the Second Temple as perceived by the rabbis and each sheds its own light on gender issues. The commentary on Tamid, a tractate dealing with the priestly service in the Temple, discusses the priests as a »gender unto themselves« and considers women as potential participants in the lay-service of the Temple and perhaps even as part of the sacred service. Middot concerns itself with the design of the Temple, and the commentary explores sacred space from a gendered perspective. Finally, Marx turns to Qinnim, a tractate dealing with bird offerings, typically brought by women. The commentary shows how the tractate employs images of women to develop its discourse. This volume opens a unique window onto the rabbis' perspectives on the Temple and gender related matters. 

 

On the Feminist Commentary on the Babylonian Talmud project 

Initiated and directed by Prof. Tal Ilan (Freie Universität, Berlin)

The Babylonian Talmud is an enormous composition, consisting of over 40 tractates, some of them several hundred pages long. This series intends to produce a commentary volume on each of these tractates, as well as a commentary on the mishnaic tractates that do not have a Babylonian exegesis to them.

In each volume a scholar of rabbinic Judaism will engage all the texts she or he perceives as relevant to the issue of women and gender, and will also produce an overall introduction to the tractate, outlining its gender conception. The exegetical approach to the text will be varied – theological, philosophical, philological, literary or historical, depending on the commentator’s preferences. This project is an international endeavour. Individual tractates will be commented upon by distinguished scholars, coming from different countries and institution