Bat ha-Levi—the daughter of Rav Samuel ben Ali בת הלוי — בתו של רב שמואל בן עלי
she taught Torah while remaining unseen behind a window
The daughter of Rav Samuel ben Ali, gaon of Baghdad. No source has kept her name; she is called after her father—Bat ha-Levi, 'the daughter of Levi'.
She is known from the testimony of Rabbi Petachiah of Regensburg, who saw it with his own eyes: she was learned in Scripture and Talmud and taught young men—sitting indoors, at a window, while the listeners stood outside and did not see her. The reference works differ on what exactly she taught, Scripture or Talmud; that she knew both, they agree.
The value of the record is that it is neither legend nor praise but a description of an arrangement: this is how it was done. Documented cases of women teaching Torah in the Middle Ages are few, and this is among the clearest.
On the timeline
Places
Related
Sources
Rishonim
- Sivuv ha-Rav Petachiah — an eyewitness: she at the window within, the listeners outside
Scholarship
- Encyclopaedia Judaica, "Samuel ben Ali" — the learned daughter and the disagreement over what she taught
Basis: documents and evidence.