Episode Details

Journey to 17th-century Kurdistan to uncover the incredible story of Asenath Barzani (c. 1590–1670), a female scholar of such exceptional intellect and piety that she became the de facto head of the Yeshiva in Mosul, defying the strict gender norms of her era. Educated by her father, Rabbi Shmuel Barzani—who secured a marriage vow that protected her time for Torah study—Asenath inherited the mantle of communal leadership, teaching the future generation of male rabbis and masters of Kabbalah. . Though she never received formal ordination, her vast knowledge, lyrical Hebrew poetry, and the widespread legends surrounding her miraculous deeds—such as using holy names to save a burning synagogue—earned her the title Tanna'it and cemented her legacy as a towering, and often overlooked, intellectual and spiritual pioneer in the history of Jewish women.