Were Jewish Girls Educable? Rabbinic and Stoic comparative perspectives on the educability of girls in rabbinic and Roman antiquity

This is a combined presentation, based on two separate yet intertwining research strands, rabbinic and Stoic, seeking to analyze the rare rabbinic discussions of the educability of girls in light of contemporary stoic exploration of the meaning and structure of human happiness, regardless of gender. we are asking to what extent household management constituted an exclusively female educational program, how was knowledge transmitted, and what fate awaited girls who crossed the imposed boundaries of female education by pushing the boundaries of female educability. We will analyze the portraiture of women who defied the traditional educational system, such as Beruriah and Hyparchia, the latter accredited with loudly rejecting the loom. Examining them as daughters and not in their traditional role as wives we are asking how exceptionally educated women perceived female educability in their respective (and unfriendly) environments.