Beruria: A Scholarly Woman Before Her Time

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It is rare that we find the name of a woman mentioned in the Talmud. Beruria was one such exception, a great Jewish woman whose wisdom, piety, and learning inspire us to this day.

Beruria lived about one hundred years after the destruction of the Second Beit Hamikdash, which occurred in the year 70 CE. She was the daughter of the great Rabbi Chananiah ben Teradion, who was one of the “Ten Martyrs” whom the Romans killed for spreading the teachings of the Torah among the Jewish people¹.

Beruria was not only the daughter of a great man but was also the wife of an equally great sage, the saintly Rabbi Meir, one of the most important teachers of the Mishnah. Reb Meir lives on today perhaps more than most sages who lived at the same time as him. His name is consonant with giving tzedakah – Kupat Rabbi Meir Ba’al Hanes, and his burial spot in Tiberias is one of the most visited. Who is the extraordinary woman who stood behind his success?

The Talmud tells us many stories about Beruria. She studied three hundred matters of Halacha (Jewish law) every day², which would be an amazing feat for any scholar. The Sages frequently asked her views regarding matters of law, especially those laws which applied to women. For instance, the Sages had different opinions about the law of purity and asked Beruria for her opinion. Rabbi Judah sided with her and recognized her clarity³.

Great debates have taken place over the years on whether a woman is allowed to study Torah like her male counterparts, and the consensus is that as long as she does not rule out Torah decisions, women are actually encouraged to be literate in Torah matters.

And there is no doubt that Torah literacy is what gave Beruria the strength to weather the storms that God sent her way. Because Torah is the source of all of our strengths – and not when it lies bound by covers on the bookshelves, but only when it is studied, when one is immersed in it.

Beruria’s clarity of mind, her strength of character, is illustrated by the following example. Rabbi Meir was very disturbed by the constant noisy, drunken parties of his neighbors. Their terrible behavior was such that they constantly interfered with his Torah study. In his anger, Rabbi Meir once prayed that God eliminate these wicked people. Hearing him, Beruria gently said, “In Tehillim, it says: ‘May the sins disappear from the earth.’⁴ You see, the word is sins, not sinners. One should pray that evil disappears, then there will be no evildoers.”

The most touching and most famous story about the piety, wisdom and courage of Beruria describes the death of her two beloved sons. One Shabbat while Rabbi Meir was in the Beit Hamidrash, sudden sickness struck their two sons and they passed away before anything could be done for them.

Beruria covered them up in the bedroom and did not say a word to anyone. After nightfall, Rabbi Meir returned from the House of Learning and asked for his sons. Casually, Beruria remarked that they had gone out. She calmly prepared the Havdalah, the cup of wine, the light and the spices. She also distracted him while she prepared and served the Melaveh Malkah, the evening meal with which a Jew accompanies the departing “Shabbat Queen.” Then, after Rabbi Meir had finished eating, Beruria asked him for an answer to the following problem:

“Tell me, my husband, what shall I do? Some time ago something was left with me for safe-keeping. Now the owner has returned to claim it. Must I return it?”

“That is a very strange question. How can you doubt the right of the owner to claim what belongs to him?” Rabbi Meir exclaimed in astonishment.

“Well, I did not want to return it without letting you know of it,” replied Beruria. She then led her husband into the bedroom where their two sons lay in their eternal sleep. She removed the bedcovers from their still bodies. Rabbi Meir, seeing his beloved sons, and realizing that they had passed away, burst out into bitter weeping.

The Talmud spans over 1000 years and many more stories have taken place than the ones included. The stories that remain with us for eternity were with Ruach Hokodesh understood to remain relevant in every day and age. To every single one of us. To those of us who are battling huge challenges – be it spiritual, emotional or physical, and for those of us battling smaller ones – silent struggles that only we know about.

“My dear husband,” Beruria gently reminded him. “Didn’t you yourself say a moment ago that the owner has the right to claim his property? God gave and has taken away; blessed be the name of God.” To which Reb Meir replied ‘”A woman of valour, who can find?”⁵

So how is her extraordinary life story pertinent to us? After reading her story, one could say – well, God sends down extraordinary souls every blue moon. I’m not one of them. My daily small struggles cause me aggravation and frustration.

To embrace death with peace? Forget it. Next chapter.

Here’s where a fundamental truth comes in. Nothing in the Torah, and that includes the Talmud, is written just for storytelling’s sake. The Oral, as well as verbal Torah, remain pertinent to us every single day.

Beruria’s story shows us how strength lies in the Torah. Today especially, there is a wealth of Torah materials ready to inspire and uplift Jewish women. Books on Emunah, books on strengthening one’s character, Chovot Halevovot, the weekly Parsha, and the list goes on. Making Torah study a real part of our lives will help us ride the inevitable waves that come along.

And like Beruria we can be stronger than our challenges, they can bring us closer to Hashem, and instead of stumbling blocks, they can become stepping stones to our best selves.

https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/34-The-Tana-Rabbi-Chanina-Ben-Teradion
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Pesachim 62b ↩︎
Tosefta Keilim Kamma 4:9 ↩︎
Psalms 104:35 ↩︎
Midrash Mishlei to Proverbs 31:10 ↩︎