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Papers by Tali Artman Partock

De Gruyter, Jul 19, 2021

The Bible, the only treasure which escaped the fire of Jerusalem, was in the greatest possible da... more The Bible, the only treasure which escaped the fire of Jerusalem, was in the greatest possible danger. The doctrine of God, as taught and believed in synagogues and the houses of the Jews, was at stake. 1

Melilah: Manchester Journal of Jewish Studies (1759-1953), 2019

This paper argues that parashah 17 of Genesis Rabbah 17, which interprets the biblical story of t... more This paper argues that parashah 17 of Genesis Rabbah 17, which interprets the biblical story of the creation of woman from the rib, is a carefully edited text, which tackles not only the origins of humankind but also of misogyny. It shows that its structure develops from praise of women, to parodies on women haters and hatred, using what Bakhtin referred to as carnivalesque forms of humour. It also reflects on the reasons humour has not been pointed at by previous scholars. To Ran In the past two decades, after the Bible and even the Zohar started showing us their laughing faces, the realization that 'our rabbis, may their memory be blessed' might have had a rather creative sense of humour, has begun to spread. 1 Jokes, anecdotes, and even parodies of both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament were identified. Suddenly the Babylonian rabbis could mock the Palestinian rabbis, Jews could mock Christians, the old Israelites the men of Sodom, and in moments of special divine grace some rabbis were even willing to enjoy a good laugh at the expense of their own learning and meaning-making mechanisms. 2 But even those who saw the laughing face of the rabbis (mostly Babylonian rabbis) did not find it in their hearts to include misogyny or patriarchy as objects of mockery, or even self-reflection in rabbinic literature. 3 But what if this is a mistake? Where would such a text appear? What would it look like? Would we be able to see it? The attempt that I wish to make here is to take a text that has been interpreted as the rabbinic 'heart of darkness' when it comes to women, 4 the last part of parashah 17 of Genesis Rabbah, and suggest that it could be our own 'horizon of expectations' that blinds us from seeing the complex forms of cultural production that appear in it, and its comic, ironic, even satirical aspects. To achieve this, I will first address the nature of the editing of Genesis Rabbah, then theoretical issues, and only then will I turn to a (very) close reading of Genesis Rabbah 17. 5 As Boyarin has already invested some 400 pages in showing the relevance of the serio-comic to talmudic culture, I have no need to repeat his argument. 6 However, to read an ancient text as comic,

Encyclopedia of Jewish-Christian Relations Online, edited by Walter Homolka, Rainer Kampling, Amy-Jill Levine, Christoph Markschies, Peter Schäfer and Martin Thurner. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2019, 2021

This entry explores the meaning of the word prostitution and attitudes towards prostitution among... more This entry explores the meaning of the word prostitution and attitudes towards prostitution among Jews and Christians in Late Antiquity.

Expressions of Sceptical Topoi in (Late) Antique Judaism, 2021

This paper examines the epistemological and theological assumptions hidden in rabbinic discourses... more This paper examines the epistemological and theological assumptions hidden in rabbinic discourses which engage with imaginary opponents 'who would tell you' something.
. 1 Open Access.

Language, Gender and Law in the Judaeo-Islamic Milieu, 2019

Why are there do few women in Jewish 'tours of hell' until the high middle ages? and are how are ... more Why are there do few women in Jewish 'tours of hell' until the high middle ages? and are how are the very few existing traditions connected?
From the Yerushalmi to Zefer Zikhronot, the question of women's agency and legal subjectivity is examined, along with the very limited number of 'sins' that may see them go to hell.

H. Herzog and E. Shadmi, Prostitution, Pornography and Trafficking in Women: Israel’s Blood Money, 2019

Melilah, 2019

: This paper argues that parashah 17 of Genesis Rabbah 17, which interprets the biblical story of... more : This paper argues that parashah 17 of Genesis Rabbah 17, which interprets the biblical story of the
creation of woman from the rib, is a carefully edited text, which tackles not only the origins of humankind but also of
misogyny. It shows that its structure develops from the praise of women to parodies on women haters and hatred, using
what Bakhtin referred to as carnivalesque forms of humor. It also reflects on the reasons humor has not been
pointed at by previous scholars.

The Legal Status of Intersex Persons, 2018, 2018

Early Rabbinic Judaism is the name given to the group of people who produced, from the first to a... more Early Rabbinic Judaism is the name given to the group of people who produced, from the first to approximately the seventh century CE, the post Biblical canonic texts of Judaism. This 'new' Judaism, which grew in parallel to early Christianity, was highly invested in the concept of law. This is reflected not only in interpreting the Hebrew Bible which is considered to be a book of laws, but also in the production of a legal codex of their own time (the Mishnah, edited in the early third century) 1 , and its interpretations (the Palestinian Talmud, edited in the fifth century, and the Babylonian Talmud, which had several layers of editing, the latest of which is in the seventh century). These legal codices still serve as the basis for any ruling on questions relating to intersex people in Jewish law, and often in Israeli law. 2

Melilah, 2019

ABSTRACT: This paper argues that parashah 17 of Genesis Rabbah 17, which interprets the biblical ... more ABSTRACT: This paper argues that parashah 17 of Genesis Rabbah 17, which interprets the biblical story of the
creation of woman from the rib, is a carefully edited text, which tackles not only the origins of humankind but also of
misogyny. It shows that its structure develops from the praise of women to parodies on women haters and hatred, using
what Bakhtin referred to as carnivalesque forms of humour. It also reflects on the reasons humour has not been
pointed at by previous scholars.

Jerusalem Studies in Hebrew Literature

If an entire culture is regarded as text, then everything is at least potentially in play both at... more If an entire culture is regarded as text, then everything is at least potentially in play both at the level of representation and at the level of event. Indeed, it becomes increasingly difficult

Conference Presentations by Tali Artman Partock

https://lecture2go.uni-hamburg.de/l2go/-/get/v/19283

A lecture given in Hamburg

הרצאה על מושג הזנות בכנס הלקסיקלי ה-11

De Gruyter, Jul 19, 2021

The Bible, the only treasure which escaped the fire of Jerusalem, was in the greatest possible da... more The Bible, the only treasure which escaped the fire of Jerusalem, was in the greatest possible danger. The doctrine of God, as taught and believed in synagogues and the houses of the Jews, was at stake. 1

Melilah: Manchester Journal of Jewish Studies (1759-1953), 2019

This paper argues that parashah 17 of Genesis Rabbah 17, which interprets the biblical story of t... more This paper argues that parashah 17 of Genesis Rabbah 17, which interprets the biblical story of the creation of woman from the rib, is a carefully edited text, which tackles not only the origins of humankind but also of misogyny. It shows that its structure develops from praise of women, to parodies on women haters and hatred, using what Bakhtin referred to as carnivalesque forms of humour. It also reflects on the reasons humour has not been pointed at by previous scholars. To Ran In the past two decades, after the Bible and even the Zohar started showing us their laughing faces, the realization that 'our rabbis, may their memory be blessed' might have had a rather creative sense of humour, has begun to spread. 1 Jokes, anecdotes, and even parodies of both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament were identified. Suddenly the Babylonian rabbis could mock the Palestinian rabbis, Jews could mock Christians, the old Israelites the men of Sodom, and in moments of special divine grace some rabbis were even willing to enjoy a good laugh at the expense of their own learning and meaning-making mechanisms. 2 But even those who saw the laughing face of the rabbis (mostly Babylonian rabbis) did not find it in their hearts to include misogyny or patriarchy as objects of mockery, or even self-reflection in rabbinic literature. 3 But what if this is a mistake? Where would such a text appear? What would it look like? Would we be able to see it? The attempt that I wish to make here is to take a text that has been interpreted as the rabbinic 'heart of darkness' when it comes to women, 4 the last part of parashah 17 of Genesis Rabbah, and suggest that it could be our own 'horizon of expectations' that blinds us from seeing the complex forms of cultural production that appear in it, and its comic, ironic, even satirical aspects. To achieve this, I will first address the nature of the editing of Genesis Rabbah, then theoretical issues, and only then will I turn to a (very) close reading of Genesis Rabbah 17. 5 As Boyarin has already invested some 400 pages in showing the relevance of the serio-comic to talmudic culture, I have no need to repeat his argument. 6 However, to read an ancient text as comic,

Encyclopedia of Jewish-Christian Relations Online, edited by Walter Homolka, Rainer Kampling, Amy-Jill Levine, Christoph Markschies, Peter Schäfer and Martin Thurner. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2019, 2021

This entry explores the meaning of the word prostitution and attitudes towards prostitution among... more This entry explores the meaning of the word prostitution and attitudes towards prostitution among Jews and Christians in Late Antiquity.

Expressions of Sceptical Topoi in (Late) Antique Judaism, 2021

This paper examines the epistemological and theological assumptions hidden in rabbinic discourses... more This paper examines the epistemological and theological assumptions hidden in rabbinic discourses which engage with imaginary opponents 'who would tell you' something.
. 1 Open Access.

Language, Gender and Law in the Judaeo-Islamic Milieu, 2019

Why are there do few women in Jewish 'tours of hell' until the high middle ages? and are how are ... more Why are there do few women in Jewish 'tours of hell' until the high middle ages? and are how are the very few existing traditions connected?
From the Yerushalmi to Zefer Zikhronot, the question of women's agency and legal subjectivity is examined, along with the very limited number of 'sins' that may see them go to hell.

H. Herzog and E. Shadmi, Prostitution, Pornography and Trafficking in Women: Israel’s Blood Money, 2019

Melilah, 2019

: This paper argues that parashah 17 of Genesis Rabbah 17, which interprets the biblical story of... more : This paper argues that parashah 17 of Genesis Rabbah 17, which interprets the biblical story of the
creation of woman from the rib, is a carefully edited text, which tackles not only the origins of humankind but also of
misogyny. It shows that its structure develops from the praise of women to parodies on women haters and hatred, using
what Bakhtin referred to as carnivalesque forms of humor. It also reflects on the reasons humor has not been
pointed at by previous scholars.

The Legal Status of Intersex Persons, 2018, 2018

Early Rabbinic Judaism is the name given to the group of people who produced, from the first to a... more Early Rabbinic Judaism is the name given to the group of people who produced, from the first to approximately the seventh century CE, the post Biblical canonic texts of Judaism. This 'new' Judaism, which grew in parallel to early Christianity, was highly invested in the concept of law. This is reflected not only in interpreting the Hebrew Bible which is considered to be a book of laws, but also in the production of a legal codex of their own time (the Mishnah, edited in the early third century) 1 , and its interpretations (the Palestinian Talmud, edited in the fifth century, and the Babylonian Talmud, which had several layers of editing, the latest of which is in the seventh century). These legal codices still serve as the basis for any ruling on questions relating to intersex people in Jewish law, and often in Israeli law. 2

Melilah, 2019

ABSTRACT: This paper argues that parashah 17 of Genesis Rabbah 17, which interprets the biblical ... more ABSTRACT: This paper argues that parashah 17 of Genesis Rabbah 17, which interprets the biblical story of the
creation of woman from the rib, is a carefully edited text, which tackles not only the origins of humankind but also of
misogyny. It shows that its structure develops from the praise of women to parodies on women haters and hatred, using
what Bakhtin referred to as carnivalesque forms of humour. It also reflects on the reasons humour has not been
pointed at by previous scholars.

Jerusalem Studies in Hebrew Literature

If an entire culture is regarded as text, then everything is at least potentially in play both at... more If an entire culture is regarded as text, then everything is at least potentially in play both at the level of representation and at the level of event. Indeed, it becomes increasingly difficult

https://lecture2go.uni-hamburg.de/l2go/-/get/v/19283

A lecture given in Hamburg

הרצאה על מושג הזנות בכנס הלקסיקלי ה-11