Massekhet Gittin Chapters 4-5

Text, Translation, and Commentary. A Feminist Commentary on the Babylonian Talmud. Volume III/6/d-e.

By (author) Tal Ilan By (author) Anat Israeli

Book cover: Massekhet Gittin Chapters 4-5

Extent: 514 pages

Publisher: Mohr Siebeck

Subjects: Gender & Sexuality, Jewish Studies, Religious Studies

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(April 2024)

ISBN: 9783161635519

6.5 x 9.65 inches

Price: $254.00

In stock

Anat Israeli and Tal Ilan present a feminist commentary on chapters 4 and 5 of Tractate Gittin in the order of Nashim in the Mishnah. While in the Babylonian Talmud a large unity is devoted to the conquest of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple, the present commentary focuses on women’s roles in this war.


Tractate Gittin of the Mishnah is located in the Order of Women and discusses divorce proceedings. Chapters 4 and 5 of the Tractate address a specific topic – “the improvement of the world” – and list a number of rules (most of them devoted to women and gender issues) which were enacted so as to improve a certain undesirable condition. This volume provides a feminist commentary on these gender-relevant mishnaic texts, and on the commentary of the Babylonian Talmud on them. The Babylonian commentary includes an extended literary unit that describes and comments on the conquest of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Second Temple. Anat Israeli and Tal Ilan address the gendered issues that arise from this literary unit and raise the question of women’s place (and victimhood) in the male economy of war.

  • By (author) Tal Ilan
  • By (author) Anat Israeli