Barry Scott Wimpfheimer is an American scholar of the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

and

Rabbinic literature Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writ ...

. He is an associate professor at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

and chair of its department of religious studies.

Biography

Wimpfheimer grew up in an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

household in Riverdale, New York and began studying the Talmud in 5th grade. He earned his B.A. from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and M.A. from Yeshiva University in Talmudic studies. He received his rabbinic ordination in 2000. He then earned a Ph.D. from Columbia in religion, studying under David Weiss Halivni. His work has focused on the

Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

as a work of law and literature. Wimpfheimer's book on the history and evolution of the Talmud, ''The Talmud: A Biography'' (2018) won a National Jewish Book Award in 2018. He argued that the Talmud can be read in three different ways: the essential Talmud, which sees the Talmud as a work of religious literature produced at a certain historical period; the enhanced Talmud, which sees the text as the central canonical work of Judaism after the Destruction of the temple; and the emblematic Talmud, which sees the scripture as the primary symbol of Jews, Judaism and Jewishness. Wimpfheimer also teaches an online introductory Talmud course via Coursera. He is the co-editor of '' Prooftexts: A Journal of Jewish Literary History''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wimpfheimer, Barry Scott Living people Northwestern University faculty Columbia College (New York) alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Yeshiva University alumni American rabbis Year of birth missing (living people)