Heroine of the Day

One of the reasons I'm loving this feature so much is that I'm getting a chance to do some really fascinating research on women I've either never heard of before, of never though that much about. One thing I've realized is that there is no dearth of courageous Jewish women throughout history. The only trouble I'm having with this feature each time is choosing one. Anyway, without further ado, my Heroine of the Day.

Today we remember a great Torah scholar, Nechama Leibowitz. Russian born, she received a doctorate in Bible Studies from the University of Berlin before she made aliyah. She taught at the Mizrachi Women's Teachers' Seminar in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University, and Hesder yeshivot. Nechama Leibowitz is best known, though, for her weekly parsha "pages" (gilyonot in hebrew) of questions that she stenciled and mailed to tens of thousands of students from all different observance levels and affiliations all over the world, . These guides to the Torah helped students examine and interpret the text more closely and were eventually published as study guides for parshat hashavua (the weekly Torah portions). They also won her the Israel Prize in 1957 for revolutionizing Torah study. Nechama Leibowitz would lecture regularly to groups of women and men, but remained modest and unassuming, insisting that her students call her "Nechama". Indeed, she insisted that her gravestone read simply: Nechama Leibowitz, morah (teacher). She is roundly recognized as a female pioneer in the study of the Torah, a devoted and effective educator, and a true role model for generations of Jewish women.
Here are more resources on Nechama Leibowitz's life, and here are some of her writings and teachings.