Women's Testimony in Jewish Law: A Historical Survey
This article explores Jewish legal rulings regarding women's ability to give testimony. It deals with the early stages of the legal sources and compares the biblical and early tannaitic material to contemporary sources. I show that there is no possible way to suggest what the reasoning was for...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
HUC
2014
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| In: |
Hebrew Union College annual
Year: 2011, Volume: 82/83, Pages: 119-159 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | This article explores Jewish legal rulings regarding women's ability to give testimony. It deals with the early stages of the legal sources and compares the biblical and early tannaitic material to contemporary sources. I show that there is no possible way to suggest what the reasoning was for the exclusion of women from giving testimony, and that reasons that have to do with women's reliability only appear in later sources. I also discuss the situations where women's testimony was not barred. This article goes on to focus on the late Middle Ages and examines the textual sources and historical and cultural factors that influenced medieval decisors in their rulings. The major changes in the scope of women's ability to give testimony in European Jewish communities are explained by discussing the historical context and the changing role of women in the public sphere. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Hebrew Union College annual
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