Fresh Perspectives on Talmudic Scholarship
Rising scholars in the Faculty of Humanities at Hebrew University, Dr. Avigail Manekin-Bamberger and Dr. Yael Fisch, are bringing fresh and innovative perspectives to the study of the Talmud, each offering compelling insights into Jewish life and thought in late antiquity. Dr. Manekin-Bamberger’s research focuses on the material culture of the era, using artifacts like Aramaic incantation bowls to explore the intersections of Talmudic law and magic, and the social dynamics of Babylonian Jewish society. Dr. Fisch’s work delves into the literary and interpretive traditions of the same period, uncovering how ancient texts reimagine and reconstruct reality and engage readers. She also explores the interplay between Jewish and Christian interpretations of shared scriptures. Together, their work reveals the depth and complexity of Jewish history, offering complementary windows into its material and textual worlds.
Written By: Keri Rosenbluh
Dr. Avigail Manekin-Bamberger, a scholar in the Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry, is enhancing the study of the Babylonian Talmud by integrating its analysis with material culture. Her research centers on a remarkable yet underexplored artifact—the Aramaic incantation bowls, a collection of inscribed clay vessels buried under homes in Babylonia, where the Talmud was composed. By bridging archaeology, legal studies, and textual analysis, Manekin-Bamberger brings a unique perspective to Talmudic scholarship. Her research provides a richer understanding of the cultural, spiritual, and social dimensions of Jewish life in Babylonia.
What are the Aramaic Incantation Bowls?
Aramaic incantation bowls date back to the 4th to 7th centuries CE, and were primarily found in modern-day Iraq. Of the estimated 2,000-3,000 bowls in existence, only about 700 have been deciphered and studied. Approximately two-thirds are inscribed in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic, the language of the Babylonian Talmud, while others feature Syriac, Mandaic, or an unintelligible pseudo-script.
Designed primarily for household protection, the bowls’ intricate, spiral inscriptions also provide protection for businesses, property, and women during childbirth, as well as general protection against curses. The bowls were typically buried upside-down in the entrances to homes, possibly serving as “demon traps.” Excavations have revealed multiple bowls buried in a single household, which suggests that they were a common, accessible form of ritual practice against perceived threats in ancient communities.
Where Magic and Law Intersect
Dr. Manekin-Bamberger’s interest in the incantation bowls began during her master’s studies in the Talmud Department at Hebrew University. What immediately struck her was the frequent use of legal language and terminology—phrases commonly found in divorce-related documents or legal contracts—embedded within the bowls’ magical formulae. This revelation led her to explore the intersections of Talmudic law and magic, revealing how scribes, often experts in religious and legal texts, adapted legal language for supernatural purposes. For instance, phrases from divorce documents were repurposed to “expel” demons, reflecting a worldview where law held divine and transformative power.
Realizing the potential of these bowls to illuminate aspects of the Talmud, Manekin-Bamberger delved deeply into their study. Her subsequent doctoral research demonstrated that the relationship was bidirectional. Talmudic discussions of excommunication, for example, often carry magical undertones, with curses perceived as having tangible, even fatal consequences.
Manekin-Bamberger argues that the connection between law and magic reflects an ancient worldview “infested with demons.” The Talmud itself describes individuals as constantly surrounded by thousands of demons and even offers instructions to detect them. In this context, people relied on trusted tools, like the legal system, to combat supernatural threats. “Law wasn’t just a human agreement; it was divine, believed to have the power to influence the real world,” Manekin-Bamberger explains. “Rabbis could excommunicate, curse, or even decree changes in nature, and these acts were seen as having tangible effects.”
Social Dynamics in Babylonian Society
Dr. Manekin-Bamberger’s research suggests that the bowls also serve as a window into the social dynamics of Babylonian Jewish society. Her current work explores how they illuminate the lives of marginalized groups such as women or slaves. According to Manekin-Bamberger, “There is so much you can deduce from these inscriptions about the complexities of power, gender, and fear in Jewish society in late antiquity.”
Some bowls were intended to compel a runaway slave to return, with inscriptions aimed at altering the slave’s will. The imagery on the bowls further underscores this dynamic. Demons are often depicted in their centers, bound in chains, a visual parallel to the way slaves were perceived—simultaneously as property to be protected and also as individuals with agency, capable of disloyalty or harm. This duality reflects the complex societal attitudes toward slaves, who were both valued and feared.
Women also feature prominently in the bowls, often in contexts reflecting their unique hardships. Many inscriptions offer protection to women during childbirth or address severe menstrual bleeding and infant mortality. At the same time, women were frequently accused of sorcery in ancient society. Dr. Manekin-Bamberger notes recurring formulae in the bowls aimed at protecting against alleged witchcraft by familial pairs, such as mothers and daughters, and mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law. “The bowls reflect societal fears surrounding women’s activities in closed domestic spaces, where male authority or presence was limited,” she explains.
According to Manekin-Bamberger, the depiction of demons in the bowls provides a lens into societal gender values. “How did people imagine male demons vs. female demons? And what do these depictions reveal?” she asks. Male demons are frequently portrayed wielding swords or clad in armor, while female demons are depicted as naked, reflecting cultural associations of female sexuality with danger and promiscuity. "In patriarchal societies, adherence to social norms was seen as a safeguard against supernatural forces, whereas deviation—especially by women—was believed to invite demonic harm.”
A Field Ripe for Discovery
Despite their significance, much of the corpus remains undeciphered, leaving the field wide open for discovery. Manekin-Bamberger describes this uncharted territory as brimming with potential. “The incantation bowls are a treasure trove for anyone studying the Talmud, history, or even the human imagination,” she explains. “They hold countless untold stories, and with so much left unexplored, there is tremendous room for interpretation. That’s what makes this field so exciting,” she adds with a smile.
Reimagining Jewish Texts: A Literary Approach to the Temple
While Dr. Manekin-Bamberger’s work focuses on deciphering the tangible artifacts of Jewish life in late antiquity, Dr. Yael Fisch of the Department of Hebrew Literature takes a distinct yet equally insightful approach. Fisch’s research shifts the focus to the imaginative and interpretive worlds of the same era, as revealed through ancient Jewish texts. By examining how these texts interpreted and recreated reality, she offers a unique literary perspective on the intersection of historical reality and textual creativity.
Dr. Fisch’s research is distinguished by her interpretation of Jewish texts through a literary lens, presenting new ways to understand their structure and purpose. Her current project focuses on Middot, a tractate in the Mishnah whose name literally means "measurements." Middot describes the Jerusalem Temple’s architecture by verbally detailing, in the past tense, its structure, measurements, and functions. “Even though it found its home in what is considered a legal collection, Middot doesn’t really read like law. Its descriptions are written as though recalling a memory, or giving testimony,” Fisch explains. “This makes its nature ambiguous—blurring the lines between historical record and creative reconstruction.”
While most scholars treat Middot as a technical document, Fisch challenges this traditional view. Composed after the destruction of Herod’s Temple, she argues that Middot is not merely a textual rendition of that Temple but a literary blueprint, shaped by creative imagination rather than strict historical accuracy. “The text incorporates familiar elements but doesn’t fully align with any known Temple. It’s innovative and inconsistent, which suggests that it’s more about evoking an idealized vision than recording historical data.”
Situating Middot within a broader genre of descriptive literature, Fisch draws parallels to biblical, Second Temple, and Greek and Roman texts, exploring how its poetics of description transform readers into spectators. “I’m very excited about exploring how description works—how it can grasp, take hold of, and renew our understanding of these texts and their imaginative potential.”
Interpreting Shared Scriptures
Dr. Fisch’s comparative work also explores the interplay between Jewish and Christian interpretations of shared scriptures, particularly how these traditions evolved and engaged with their mutual textual heritage. By studying figures like Paul, Josephus, and the rabbis, Fisch examines the evolution of reading practices from the Second Temple period into the rabbinic era. “Paul was a Jewish writer on the margins, whose radical interpretations challenge how we define ancient Judaism,” she explains. “To fully understand him, we need to rethink our assumptions about the boundaries of Jewish and Christian traditions.”
Ancient categories have modern afterlives. Fisch highlights how Christian New Testament scholars sometimes describe Paul’s interpretive methods as “performing Midrash,” while Jewish scholars view the same techniques as extreme allegory, reflecting distinct cultural and theological lenses. By studying these interpretations, her work situates Paul within the context of ancient Judaism, examining what it means to seriously incorporate his work into Jewish tradition. “We have to revise our understanding of ancient Judaism to include Paul, not just remember when reading Paul that he was a Jew rather than a Christian,” Fisch notes. Her work positions Paul as a test case for understanding the complex relationship between Jewish and Hellenistic traditions, as well as the evolving interpretive practices that shaped Jewish and Christian identities.
As a scholar of Midrash (ancient rabbinic interpretation of scripture) and Aggadah (rabbinic narrative), Fisch explores the intricate dynamics of these interpretive traditions, which are often described as both boundlessly creative and deeply rule-based. “There’s a riddle in how Midrash works—it’s wild in its freedom yet grounded in interpretive principles,” she explains. Her scholarship investigates these hermeneutics, analyzing how ancient readers conceptualized texts and produced meaning. By approaching Midrash comparatively, including Paul’s work and his canonization in the Christian tradition, Fisch interrogates how Jewish and Christian modes of reading diverged over time. “The question,” she notes, “is how these two cultures interpreted a shared legacy of scriptures, and what that says about their broader theological and cultural shifts.”
Ancient Texts and Modern Dialogue
Dr. Fisch brings her innovative approach to the classroom through a variety of courses at Hebrew University, engaging students with critical questions about interpretation, imagination, and literary traditions in Jewish thought. For undergraduates, she teaches an introduction to Midrash and Aggadah, offering students a foundational understanding of the literature of the sages and their interpretive practices. She also leads a graduate seminar on Paul and Midrash, focusing on the interpretive traditions of ancient Judaism and early Christianity. Another course, “The End of the World in Ancient Jewish Literature,” explores apocalyptic and destruction narratives across biblical, post-biblical, and Second Temple sources, examining how these texts conceptualize closure. “It’s a very timely, thought-provoking course,” Fisch shares. “We’re asking questions about the connections between how narratives come to an end, what brings them to closure, and ultimately, how worlds end and how we imagine new chapters, new creation.”
Dr. Manekin-Bamberger and Dr. Fisch’s work is a testament to the evolving richness of Talmudic scholarship. Their research not only deepens our understanding of the past, but also invites us to reimagine how ancient traditions can inform and inspire contemporary conversations about culture, belief, and identity.
To learn more about Dr. Avigal Manekin-Bamberger, visit here.
To learn more about Dr. Yael Fisch, visit here.