Immah Shalom: The Controversial Role Model

Abstract

This article analyzes the representations of Immah Shalom (lit. mother of peace) [late 1^st - early 2ndcentury CE] as a case study of female representation in the Babylonian Talmud and the position of the women of her time in society. The methodology comprises of critical and close reading of certain narratives in the Babylonian Talmud, an analysis of their contexts and of their place and function within the Talmudic discussion. Attention will also be paid to language and structure in their relation to the aforementioned ideas and tendencies. Immah Shalom is described as compassionate, assertive, wise, brave, bold, and knowledgeable in Halakha and Jewish Tradition. Close reading demonstrates that the Talmudic sources about her illustrate atypical and even controversial attitudes in matters pertaining to women’s social exclusion, denial of their inheritance rights, and the way husbands treated their wives.