In this essay, Weisberg confronts a similar issue to that of Aryeh Cohen in “The Sage and the Other Woman,” in regards to the position of women in comparison to that of the study of Torah. However, Cohen is much more concerned in his essay about the rabbis in question and their relationship to these objects of desire, women and Torah. He defends the position of the study of Torah being above that of women. Weisberg, on the other hand, questions this hierarchy, putting the women of the Talmudic era at the center of her argument. She focuses on how gender can be studied using rabbinic texts, while recognizing that the texts are inherently male-focused but can still merit a deeper understanding through feminist study. Unlike Cohen, Weisberg argues on the side of women, searching through multiple stories rather than one to give a wider perspective on the issue of Talmudic gender. Additionally, Weisberg goes further by asking about the study of Torah performed by women, whether that happened at all or was even allowed.
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