Why Hands and Torah Should Not Meet: On Using a Yad (Torah Pointer)

All are invited to join the Jewish Studies Program at The Fralin Art Museum for this talk, with a reception to follow.

About Elizabeth Shanks Alexander, Professor

Research Interests

Rabbinic textuality, hermeneutics and orality; Rabbinic ethics and theology; Jewish law and legal reasoning; women and gender; theories and methods in religious studies.

My research focuses on the classic texts of rabbinic Judaism (midrash, Mishnah and Talmud). My most pressing questions have to do with how rabbinic literature functions as literature, and how it conveys meaning. Orality theory has taught me to see rabbinic texts as moments in a larger conversation and my work often tries to reconstruct the thinking that drives the conversation. I also make use of literary theory to discern patterns in the texts that point towards themes and tropes. I am particularly drawn towards theological and ethical topics in rabbinic literature. I have also written a lot about gender.