Fioretta of Modena

Fioretta Modena or Batsheva Modena (1522–1580) was a woman Torah scholar who was versed in a range of Jewish works including Talmud, Jewish law, and kabbalistic literature.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Fioretta's husband, Solomon of Modena, was the uncle of the scholar and rabbi Leon of Modena. Fioretta's grandson was Aaron Berechiah, a rabbi and Kabbalist. Fioretta reportedly was heavily involved in her grandson's tutelage. Fioretta's sister, Diana Rieti of Mantua, was also well versed in Jewish teachings. Following the death of her husband, Fioretta, aged 75, sought to travel to the Land of Israel for an equivalent of monastic retirement. According to family history, Fioretta died before reaching her destination.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b Fioretta ModenaJudaism Archived 25 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Mystical Safed Women - A number of women are also among the righteous Jewish mystics". www.chabad.org.
^ "Modena, Fioretta". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org.
^ "Learned Women in Traditional Jewish Society | Jewish Women's Archive". jwa.org.

Women rabbis and Torah scholars

Timeline of women rabbis

Pre-modern
figures

Bible and Talmud	Deborah (1107–1067 BCE) Bruriah (2nd century)
Medieval and early modern era	Rashi's daughters (11th–12th century) Bat ha-Levi (12th century) Paula Dei Mansi (13th century) Miriam Shapira-Luria (14th century) Fioretta of Modena (1522–1580) Bayla Falk (16th century) Eva Bacharach (1580–1651) Asenath Barzani (1590–1670) Frehat Bat Avraham (d. 1756) Maiden of Ludmir (1805–1888)

Modern figures

Ray Frank (1861–1948)
Lily Montagu (1873–1963)
Regina Jonas (1902–1944)
Tehilla Lichtenstein (1893–1973)
Paula Ackerman (1893–1989)
Martha Neumark (1904–1981)
Avis Clamitz (1908-1991)
Helen Levinthal (1910–1989)
Sally Priesand (b. 1946)
Mimi Feigelson (b. 1963)

First ordination by denomination	Regina Jonas (Reform, 1935) Sandy Sasso (Reconstructionist, 1974) Lynn Gottlieb (Renewal, 1981) Amy Eilberg (Conservative, 1985) Tamara Kolton (Humanistic, 1999) Sara Hurwitz (Orthodox, 2009)