Taubman Symposia Talk: Biblical Women and Gender Constructions: Ancient and Contemporary Perspectives on Women in the Bible

Rabbi Prof. Dr. Tamara Cohn Eskenazi is the Effie Wise Ochs Professor of Biblical Literature and History at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles. She is the first woman appointed as a professor to the rabbinical faculty since the founding of Hebrew Union College in 1875. At Hebrew Union College, Dr. Eskenazi trains rabbis, educators, and Jewish communal service professionals, as well as graduate students in Judaic Studies.

Dr. Eskenazi is an award-winning editor, author, and biblical scholar. She is the Chief Editor of The Torah: A Women’s Commentary, the winner (with Dr. Andrea Weiss) of the 2008 Jewish Book of the Year Award. This unique 1400-page book includes contributions from hundreds of women scholars, clergy, and poets. Its purpose is to bring the voices and visions of women to the interpretation of the Bible in the 21st century. She is also the author of JPS Bible Commentary on Ruth (with Tikvah Frymer-Kensky, 2012), which won the National Jewish Book Award for “Women Studies.”

The Herman P. and Sophia Taubman Foundation Endowed Symposia in Jewish Studies at UC Santa Barbara, a program of the Interdisciplinary Humanities Center, is cosponsored by the UCSB Department of Religious Studies, Congregation B’nai B’rith, Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara, and Santa Barbara Hillel.