The Joy of Wisdom. An Interview with Judith R. Baskin

What follows is a transcript of the interview with Judith R. Baskin that opened the Sherman Conversations 2017 on the theme ‘Gender and Jewish Studies’.1 Baskin is Philip H. Knight Professor Emerita in Humanities in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Oregon. Most of her work is in the areas of medieval studies and Rabbinic literature.2 Her contribution to gender studies in Jewish Studies spans four decades, beginning at a time when there were virtually no gender-sensitive resources to draw on. It is this general aspect of living through and contributing to the paradigm shift brought about by the emergence of gender studies that is the focus of this interview. The appreciation of Baskin’s output itself is left to those who can do it justice. The interview highlights significant milestones in the journey of Baskin’s scholarship including her awakening to the twin facts that there is a huge gap in the historiography of the Jewish past, and a limited construction of what it means to be a Jew. We explore factors that have facilitated and hindered Baskin’s career, and the ways in which she herself has built networks of support. The title of this interview refers to simchat hokhmah, the ritual created by Savina Teubal in the 1980s to celebrate a woman’s transition from adult to elder as a vital member of the community with many gifts to share. Judith Baskin had moved on to being emerita only three months previous to the interview. It seems more than fitting that during the interview we watched a video of Debbie Friedman singing for the first time “L’chi Lach” at Teubal’s own simchat hokhmah.3 That is to say, Baskin’s publications and interventions in academic institutions continue to be a blessing for Jewish Studies.