by Rebecca Borison This evening, Jews around the world will gather to celebrate finishing all of the tractates of the Talmud. Over seven years, participants have studied a page of Talmud every day, either by themselves or in group lessons, for 2,711 days. And while the majority of these Jews are male, there is a strong number of women who participate. Up until the 20th century, you would have been hard-pressed to find a woman learning Talmud. Dating back to the Talmud itself, it was thought to be licentious to teach a woman Torah, let alone Talmud. Today, however, most rabbis encourage women to learn Jewish texts. One woman who decided to brave the traditionally male waters is Ora Tenenhaus. Raised in a secular home in Israel, Ora travelled a unique path to this year’s siyum (finishing...

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