Tamar Marvin is a student in the Core Semikha Program at Yeshivat Maharat, the first Orthodox rabbinical institution for women. I also hold a Ph.D. in Medieval and Early Modern Jewish Studies from the Gershon Kekst Graduate School of the Jewish Theological Seminary and a B.A. in Literature and Journalism from New York University. I have published in academic and broader media and taught as an adjunct professor at a number of institutions, as well as in informal settings. I’ve also had the pleasure of being a faculty member of the Wexner Heritage Program and learning at Pardes.
I write about the period of the Rishonim, particularly intellectual history, with special interest in the theory and codification of halakhah, the transmission of texts and traditions, and in theological speculation, primarily philosophical but also Kabbalistic.
Born in Israel and raised in the United States, I am currently based in Los Angeles where I live with my husband and children. When I don’t have my head stuck in a sefer, I am probably busy feeding my small humans or making textile Judaica.
My approach to Torah learning is aptly conveyed by the Hadran, the short prayer, meaning “we will return,” said when one finishes studying a unit of Jewish text. It expresses the idea that Talmud Torah, the study of Torah (in the broadest meaning of the word), is not an end point but a lifelong process that requires returning to the same texts and bringing to them our ever-changing selves. I am dedicated to exploring the breadth of Jewish thought and creativity while creating access to classical Jewish texts for all who wish to approach them.
Image: The “carpet page” of the Leningrad Codex, written just after the year 1000, currently the oldest complete Hebrew Bible that includes the vowels and cantillation marks. Carpet pages are a feature of medieval manuscripts from a variety of cultures, so called because their decoration resembles a carpet. This one is a colophon, including details about the scholar-scribe who oversaw the creation of the manuscript. Image source: WikiMedia Commons.