Born in Israel and raised in the United States, Dr. Tamar Marvin is a scholar, writer, and educator currently based in Los Angeles and making aliyah with her family in 2024. She holds a PhD in Medieval and Early Modern Jewish Studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary and a BA in Literature and Journalism from New York University. A 2022 Va'Tichtov writing fellow and an inaugural Sefaria Word-by-Word fellow, Tamar is at work on her first book, The Worlds of the Rishonim: An Intellectual History of Medieval Jewish Life, 500-1570. Tamar is passionate about creating access to foundational Jewish texts—in their full complexity—for all who wish to approach them.

With immense gratitude—thank you to my family. Jeff, it’s not the years, it’s the mileage! I couldn’t be more filled with awe at our journey together and I can’t wait for our coming adventures. Thank you for supporting me, walking with me, making me laugh, keeping me grounded, and believing in me with the deepest love. To Nathan: your moral vision, penetrating questions, and unending love challenge and sustain me. We did it for the memes, but so much more than that, too. To Ronen: with you by my side, I can do anything. I love reading with you, hearing your insightful observations about the world around you, and dreaming with you about all the things we will do. To Daniel: you are my beacon, always guiding me to be the best that I can be by your example. Your care, responsibility, and creativity shine brightly and inspire me. To my mother, sister, and extended family: your love is felt beyond oceans and mountains. You are my roots, and have also given me the wide open sky. 

 

Thank you to all my rabbis and teachers, who saw me, believed in me from the start, welcomed me into the community, supported me personally, and taught me Torah at the highest levels. When I left the halls of academia for the beit midrash, I wished more than anything to understand “inside” the Torah of the great Rishonim whom I had studied in historical perspective. Reb Jeff, you have taught me not only their Torah but also how to learn, how to approach and break down a halachic topic, and how to enter into the great conversation itself. Rabbi Mintz, I could not have imagined that by the end of the four years I could read a sugya off the daf, anticipate its moves, and even add my own questions. You have opened Shas for me. Rabbi Erin, you introduced me to an entire world of learning in Chasidut which has profoundly impacted my own thinking. Rabba Wendy and Rabbanit Devorah, your brilliance, depth, and clarity have stayed with me and continue to inspire me. Thank you, Rabba Sara and Rav Avi, for building this incredible institution, my home, so that my dreams could be made real. Thank you also to the wider community of Maharat, including our amazing board of directors, who work endlessly and with such deep commitment to make our learning and community possible.

 

And finally, thank you to the women who are my dear friends and esteemed colleagues, who teach me so much, cheer me along, fill me with pride, understand why it’s funny, send me love across the miles, and are there for me in more ways than I have words for. To each and every one of my chevrutot, I will always hold closely our time together.