There are very few specific women named at all in the Talmud. Bruria, the great scholarly wife of Rabbi Meir, has attained some fame and popularity today. Her knowledge brought her to such a summit of true spiritual wisdom that she was able to accept the sudden tragedy of her sons’ deaths on a Shabbat afternoon. She withheld her agony until after Rabbi Meir completed the Shabbat Havdala ritual, then she spoke to him like a teacher using the style of rabbinic discourse to edify deep love and acceptance for Divine Judgment.

Ima Shalom, the kind and pious wife of Rabbi Eliezer is another woman quoted in the Talmud. Few other women are mentioned by name in rabbinic literature. Talmudically speaking, however, Yalta is the most remembered woman. As an aristocrat living in the fabulous mid 3rd century CE, during the early generations of the Amoraim, Yalta is referred to or directly quoted 8 times in the Babylonian Talmud—more than any other woman before or after.

Yalta’s fame has much to do with her family’s fortune. She lived in the city of Nehardea, in Babylon, known as an affluent southern town along the Euphrates River. Her father Rabba Bar Avuha held very important positions in Babylon. He was the Reish Galuta, the Exilarch or governor of the Jewish community in Babylon, as well as the Reish Sidra, the Head of the Academy in Nehardea. Yalta’s family had great wealth and powerful influence. She was the privileged pubescent princess when her father chose as her groom the young Rav Nachman, who would later become a very prominent rabbinic Judge.

The empires ruling the lands of Babylon employed leaders to govern the various subcultures living within their territories. Members of the Jewish royalty with direct lineage from King David were appointed by the Babylonian rulers to govern the Jewish community. This position of leadership was called the Exilarch, Reish Galuta in Aramaic, which meant “head of the exiled community”. The Exilarch governed the entire Jewish community, collected their taxes and petitioned the rulers for their needs. The Exilarchy was employed in the lands of Babylon from as early as 598 BCE until as late as the 11th century CE. There is mystery surrounding its beginnings, and only later was the ancestry traced back to King Yehoyakim, the last king of Israel from the Davidic line.

The infamous “Babylonian Exile” following the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem was actually made up of 3 events spanning 17 years: 1) In 597 BCE during the time of King Yehoyakim, the Temple of Jerusalem was partially despoiled and a number of the leading citizens were removed; 2) Eleven years later, in 586 BCE during the reign of King Tzidkiyahu, the Holy City of Jerusalem was razed to the ground and a further deportation ensued; 3) Finally, in 581 BCE the Prophet Yermiyahu recorded a third captivity. According to Jewish tradition they returned to the Holy Land 70 years later. In 537 BCE, 2 years after the Babylonian Empire was overthrown by Cyrus II of Persia, the Jewish exiles were given permission to return to their Holy Land; more than 40,000 are said to have availed themselves of the privilege. However, the vast majority of the Jewish “exiles” remained in what they called Babylon, living and thriving under the new Persian rule.

Today we still talk about the Babylonian Exile, the Babylonian Talmud, and refer to the geographical area of the Diaspora as Babylon, but the actual ancient Babylonian Empire was already ancient history for Yalta and her Sassanian contemporaries. The Babylonian Empire was overthrown by Cyrus II of Persia in 539 BCE; later defeated in 331 BCE by Alexander the Great, whose mysterious death left the area to decades of turmoil; in 141 BCE ruled by the Parthian Empire, remaining desolate and obscure for the next 300 years. In 224 CE the Sassanian Empire rose to power and began an expansionist period. The Jewish exiles flourished, establishing cities in Nehardea, Sura and Pumbedita along the Euphrates River, the calmer of the two primary rivers joined by a series of man-made channels irrigating the entire fertile expanse. The Jewish settlement followed along the famous trade route—the Silk Road. Today the area is part of Iraq.

Jewish life back in the Holy Land of Israel went through a few major changes over the roughly 850 years from the original Babylonian Exile to the period of Yalta’s lifetime, while perhaps the majority Jewish population remained in “exile”. Two destructions of the Temple in Jerusalem, followed by two resurgences of Jewish civilization occurred in the Holy Land of Israel, all the while a Jewish community remained, established itself, and even thrived in the area of ancient Babylon in cities along the Euphrates river.

Yalta’s privileged childhood in Nehardea closely followed the epic historical return to Babylon of the great Abba Arecha, the most legendary member of her own extended family, best known simply as “Rav”. Born in Babylon, Rav went to live and learn in the Holy Land of Israel for many years. When Rav eventually returned to Babylon he discovered the local Jewish scholarship poorly organized and the standards of knowledge greatly lacking. Rav brought back the Mishna of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi and founded an academy in Sura. He led the ancient Jewish renaissance of his time, spreading the teachings and customs of the Holy Land of Israel to the large population of Jews throughout Babylon. Yalta was most likely born a few years before Rav passed away in 242 CE.

As a Jewish woman living in today’s Diaspora, having enjoyed the best years of my life in Jerusalem, I am often reminded of Yalta and the times in which she lived. Jewish life was in transition for the better. There was a renaissance of Jewish learning and observance happening in the Diaspora. The majority Jewish population of the world lived in the Diaspora, praying towards Jerusalem and praying for Jerusalem. Jews in “exile” were emotionally and spiritually involved with news of happenings back in the Land of Israel. Emissaries, or Shlichim from the Holy Land of Israel brought the news and teachings to Babylon regularly and hoped to return to the Holy Land with plenty in collected donations. The similarities between Yalta’s times and my own today are often uncanny.

Continuous conflict between the warring nations in the Middle East affect all Jewish establishments in the Holy Land and throughout the Diaspora. During Yalta’s time the effects were somewhat different than today—the Jewish population in the Holy Land of Israel was dwindling, due to political oppression and economic hardship. The wealthy communities throughout the Diaspora pulled the center outward—to Alexandria, Constantinople, Rome, and the Babylonian academies in Nehardea, Sura and Pumbedita. Today, the converse is happening. The anticipated majority world Jewish population is returning to the Holy Land in the modern State of Israel. Today, the worldwide resurgence of Jewish learning and observance is pulling the exiled back to their center in Jerusalem.

The Jewish renaissance that benefited Yalta was led by Rav and continued to flourish in Babylon. The Jewish renaissance that benefits me owes much to the recent leadership of Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik (1903-1993), best known simply as “The Rov” who ordained close to 2,000 rabbis in America over 40 years as the head of Yeshiva University. The Rov articulated the paradigm of Torah U’Mada—Torah and Scientific Knowledge, advocating a synthesis between Torah and secular scholarship, as well as positive involvement with the broader community. The Rov expressed open and passionate love for the Holy Land and later modern State of Israel throughout his life. At the beginning of his career in Boston, young Rabbi Yosef Soloveitchik decided to compete for the position of Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv in 1935, prior even to establishment of the state. Elections were held at the end of 1936—The Rov came in third. Rav Amiel became the new Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv. Rav Herzog, who would later become Chief Rabbi of Israel, came in second. Sadly, The Rov’s love of Israel was often staunchly opposed by prominent members of his own family, and he was never able to actualize his own teachings promoting the current shift of the center of Jewish life back to the Land of Israel.

I feel that The Rov, like Rav, was the harbinger for the Jewish renaissance and shifting center of scholarship in each time. Just as Rav brought the Mishna from the Holy Land to establish academies in the Diaspora, so too The Rov enabled the return to Jerusalem and the Land of Israel as the center of Jewish learning.

In remembering Yalta, we gain perspective on our own times. Today, most can live as privileged in Jewish learning as only she, the princess of the Exilarch, daughter of the Reish Sidra and wife of the prominent Judge Nachman could in her own auspicious time. Today, just as in Yalta’s day, Jews in the Diaspora are, primarily, wealthy and established, and not victims of oppression. Today, like Princess Yalta herself, most Jews are considered to be descendants of the great King David of the tribe of Yehuda. Today, as only the aristocrats such as Yalta could in those times, all can learn Torah from Israel no matter where they are in the world through the internet, 24 hours a day! Today, if Yalta could see and hear a class on WebYeshiva, she would be utterly amazed! Today, if she could fully understand the worldwide Jewish learning explosion, she would be completely in awe! With Yalta as our honored onlooker, may we give thanks to the Master of the Universe and acknowledge the miraculous age in which we are living!