Author Archives: Shai Secunda

About Shai Secunda

Researcher and lecturer in the Talmud and its contexts.

Black Like a Raven: Menstruation and Aesthetics

Posted on April 22, 2013

With my book, The Iranian Talmud: Reading the Bavli in its Sasanian Context (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press) in production and due out later this year, I have finally been able to return to research I first conducted for my … Continue reading →

Posted in Gender, Readings, Ruminations | Tagged , | 17 Comments

A Talmud Lecture in the Knesset

Posted on February 13, 2013

At the Talmud blog, we are interested in the Talmud wherever it is to be found – primarily in the academy but also in more traditional settings, midrashot for women, secular Israeli institutions, on Israeli televisions dramas, in South Korea, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments

Coverup: Two Examples of Censorship, Then and Now

Posted on December 17, 2012

Censorship, which is supposed to conceal, has the habit of doing just the opposite: To censor is to cover up, and covering up is conspicuous. Here are two cases in point that I recently stumbled upon: (1) I’ve been lucky … Continue reading →

Posted in Mythologies | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Redacted Intertextuality – An Addendum

Posted on August 20, 2012

When I go abroad, I like to see art. Usually, something with presence and gravitas, as you might find at Washington’s National Gallery – a museum in which I once spent a precious 3.7 minutes with children before being asked … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 10 Comments

On the Arabic Talmud

Posted on July 5, 2012

I cannot remember exactly when I initially heard about the first complete translation of the Babylonian Talmud into Arabic, but I can remember what I felt: excitement, bewilderment, curiosity, and, I must confess, the quickening of my liberal heart.  From the first … Continue reading →

Posted in Ruminations | Tagged | 6 Comments

Iranica Antiqua 47: More on the Hebrew inscription on Ardashir’s Tunic

Posted on May 18, 2012

The latest Iranica Antiqua has just been published online.  The Talmud Blog generally does not announce the publication of every journal from the field of Iranian Studies (or Late Antiquity, Early Christianity, etc etc), even though this might be of use … Continue reading →

Posted in Readings, Recent Publications | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Afghani ‘Geniza’

Posted on May 1, 2012

A few months ago, news broke in the Israeli media of an important manuscript trove that was discovered in Afghanistan. A spate of articles appeared in the press, each one covering just a bit more than the one prior it. … Continue reading →

Posted in Events, Mishna, Piyut, Talk of the Town, Talmud in the News | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

You Rejoice – though not Me: Some Notes on bMeg 10b and its Parallels

Posted on April 3, 2012

Does God rejoice at the downfall of the wicked? Surely He wants the good to prosper and the wicked to perish. Yet, the destruction of God’s own creatures, regardless of some poor choices they may have made in the past, … Continue reading →

Posted in Readings, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Missing Daf

Posted on March 8, 2012

Purim Day, Thursday, March 8, 2012 Modiin, Israel Anyone on the inside knows that academia in general is full of intrigue, that Jewish studies is really one big ‘Spy vs. Spy’ episode, and that the Talmud Department is, well, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Talking about a Revolution

Posted on March 1, 2012

In the wake of the Artscroll dinner a few nights ago, there has been lots of chatter about a mega-app recently developed for the Artscroll Schottenstein Talmud. Yesterday, Artscroll released an over-the-top, hyperbolic clip that shows some of the amazing … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 37 Comments