Lynn Kaye

My expertise is in the interaction of legal and literary interpretation of Talmudic texts, to uncover new meanings in narratives, rule texts, and legal figurative language, and to connect my research in rabbinic texts with theoretical research in fields of law, literary studies, and history. I primarily focus on the Babylonian Talmud and texts of late antiquity, but I am also interested in how these texts have been interpreted by jurists and communities from the medieval through the modern period. I am motivated by theories of law and literary interpretation that help us recognize how meaning is generated, and by theories of interpretation that help us to center people's experiences.

I have published on concepts time in Judaism, Talmudic and rabbinic narratives, Jewish law in comparative contexts, Jewish thought, women's status and experiences, and biblical interpretation, and my publications be found on academia.edu. My interdisciplinary research process is reflected in my recent co-authored and co-edited book, Time: A Multidisciplinary Introduction (De Gruyter, 2023).

I held fellowships at NYU Law School and Benjamin N. Cardozo Law School for humanities doctoral students, and my legal studies have continued with Partial Accreditation with the Department of Justice, assisting in humanitarian immigration benefits with Dignidad, The Right to Immigration Institute, in Waltham. I have also served as a volunteer court accompanier in immigration court in Boston.

In addition to my academic degrees, I completed the Graduate Program for Women in Advanced Talmudic Studies at Stern College. Before my work as a college professor, I served for four years, as Director of Jewish Life and Learning, and as Assistant Congregational Leader, at Congregation Shearith Israel, The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue in New York.