All posts by Eliezer Segal

Eliezer Segal is currently Professor Emeritus in the Department of Classics and Religion at the University of Calgary, specializing in Rabbinic Judaism. Originally from Montreal, he holds a BA degree from McGill University (1972) and MA and PhD in Talmud from the Hebrew University (1976, 1982). He has been on the faculty of the University of Calgary since 1986. In addition to his many academic studies of textual and literary aspects of rabbinic texts and the interactions of Jewish and neighbouring cultures, he has attempted to make the fruits of Judaic scholarship accessible to non-specialist audiences through his web site, newspaper columns and children's books. He and his wife Agnes Romer Segal have three sons and five grandchildren. Some of his recent books include: The Most Precious Possession (2014), Teachers, Preachers and Selected Short Features (2019), The Times of Our Life: Some Brief Histories of Jewish Time (2019), Beasts that Teach, Birds that Tell: Animal Language in Rabbinic and Classical Literatures (2019). Areas of Research Rabbinic philology The philological and literary study of Jewish texts from the Rabbinic era (Talmud and Midrash), with special focus on the establishment of accurate texts and the understanding of the complex processes of redaction and written transmission of originally oral traditions. Midrash The examination of "Midrash," ancient Rabbinic works relating to Hebrew Bible. My research has focused on studying the different literary approaches characteristic of rhetorical homiletics (sermons) and of scriptural interpretation (exegesis). These reflect the geographical distributions between Israel and Babylonia, and the institutional division between synagogue and scholarly academy. Judaism in the Classical environment Detailed topical studies examining statements and discussions by the ancient Jewish rabbis in the context of their contemporary Greek and Roman cultures.

Research Profile

The original of this profile was compiled for the University of Calgary web site, but was deleted in 2025. It has now been reformatted and slightly updated for my WordPress site.

Research Profile: Prof. Eliezer Lorne Segal

Position:

Contact information

Email

Web presence

Phone number

Background

Educational Background

  • BA Philosophy, Jewish Studies, McGill University, 1972 
  • MA Talmud, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1976 
  • PhD Talmud, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1982 

Biography

Eliezer Segal is Professor Emeritus, formerly in the Department of Classics and Religion at the University of Calgary, specializing in Rabbinic Judaism. Originally from Montreal, he holds a BA degree from McGill University (1972) and MA and PhD in Talmud from the Hebrew University (1976, 1982). He served on the faculty of the University of Calgary since 1986. In addition to his many academic studies of textual and literary aspects of rabbinic texts and the interactions of Jewish and neighbouring cultures, he has attempted to make the fruits of Judaic scholarship accessible to non-specialist audiences through his web site, newspaper columns and children’s books.

He and his wife Agnes Romer Segal have three sons, five grandchildren and one great grandchild.

Some of his recent books include: The Most Precious Possession (2014), Teachers, Preachers and Selected Short Features (2019), The Times of Our Life: Some Brief Histories of Jewish Time (2019), Beasts that Teach, Birds that Tell: Animal Language in Rabbinic and Classical Literatures (2019).

  • Research

  • Areas of Research

Rabbinic philology 

The philological and literary study of Jewish texts from the Rabbinic era (Talmud and Midrash), with special focus on the establishment of accurate texts and the understanding of the complex processes of redaction and written transmission of originally oral traditions. 

Midrash 

The examination of “Midrash,” ancient Rabbinic works relating to Hebrew Bible. My research has focused on studying the different literary approaches characteristic of rhetorical homiletics (sermons) and of scriptural interpretation (exegesis). These reflect the geographical distributions between Israel and Babylonia, and the institutional division between synagogue and scholarly academy.

Judaism in the Classical environment 

Detailed topical studies examining statements and discussions by the ancient Jewish rabbis in the context of their contemporary Greek and Roman cultures.

  • Awards
  • Humanities Open Book Program for digital republication of volumes in Brown Judaic Studies series, National Endowment for the Humanities / Andrew W. Mellon Foundation,. 2020 
  • Local Journalism Initiative, Canadian Heritage. 2019– 
  • Nachman Sokol-Chaim Yoel and Mollie Halberstadt Award for Scholarship: Biblical / Rabbinic, Helen and Stan Vine Annual Canadian Jewish Book Awards. 2006 
  • Visiting Professor Grant for research at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem., Lady Davis Fellowship Trust . 1999 
  • Itta and Eliezer Zeisler Memorial Lectureship, Department of Classical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies, University of British Columbia. 2003 
  • Annual Fellowship, Calgary Institute for the Humanities. 1991 
  • E. S. Rosenthal Memorial Award, Department of Talmud, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 1985 
  • Finkelstein Scholarships, Lieberman Institute for Talmudic Research, Jewish Theological Seminary of America. 1985 
  • Doctoral Award, SSHRC. 1979 
  • Graduate Fellowship, Canada Council for Humanities and Social Sciences. 1978

Publications

Books

Book Chapters

Journal Articles

Presentations

  • Aggadic Collections . Harvard Law School Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law: Conference on “What is the Talmud?” (Zoom). (2022) 
  • Gunsmoke & Gemara: Depictions of Jewish Life in Classic TV Westerns. Zoom presentation for Congregations Rinat Yisrael, Teaneck NJ and House of Jacob-Mikveh Israel, Calgary. (2022) 
  • Lord – and Lady – of the Flies. Meeting of American Academy of Religion, Society of Biblical Literature and American Schools of Oriental Research Pacific Northwest Region. (2014) 
  • Aristeas or Aggadah: Talmudic Legend and the Greek Bible in Palestinian Judaism. Conference on “Common Judaism Explored: Second Temple Judaism in Context,” Calgary Institute for the Humanities. (2005) 
  • Alternative E‑Publishing: Reality and Practice. Workshop on “New Models in Academic Publishing: Dispelling the Myth” sponsored by University of Calgary Information Resources. (2002) 
  • Digital Discipleship: Using the Internet for the Teaching of Jewish Thought. International Conference on “Study and knowledge in Jewish Thought,” Goldstein-Goren International Center for Jewish Thought, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel. (2004) 
  • From there to here, from here to there / Seuss-ifying Hebrew prayer. Faculty Colloquium “Across Cultural Boundaries” Faculty of Humanities, University of Calgary. (2001) 
  • The Temple as a Source of Unity and Conflict (So What Else is New?). “History, Issues, and Ideas–Lost Worlds: Jewish Life, Roman World,” workshop organized by the University of Victoria Department of Greek and Roman Studies and Division of Continuing Studies, and Victoria Jewish Community Centre; University of Victoria. (2001) 
  • Presenting and Teaching the Talmud on the Internet. “Talmud Bavli–History of Transmission as History of Intertextuality,” Workshop organized by the Kulturwissenschaftliche Forschungskolleg “Medien und kulturelle Kommunikation” of the University of Cologne, Germany. (2001) 
  • Seventy Faces to the LXX: The Rabbinic Tradition on the Greek Translation of the Pentateuch Revisited. Greenfield Scholars Seminar, Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Associated Literature. (2000) 
  • Little Contained Much’: On the Sages’ Attitude towards Philosophical Discourse. International Conference on Jewish Thought and Foreign Cultures: “Judaism and the World– Interaction, Influence and Impact,” Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheva, Israel. (2000) 
  • Towards a Definition of “the Era of the Sages”. Second Annual Conference on Research in Rabbinic Thought, Beit Morasha of Jerusalem Center for Advanced Jewish Studies, Jerusalem. (1999) 
  • Variants, Traditions and the Meaning of Prophecy. “Theories of the Text” an interdisciplinary workshop and panel discussion, University of Calgary Philology Research Group. (1999) 
  • Associative’ Organization in the Talmud: Some Reconsiderations. Conference “A Heritage in Transition: Jewish Studies in Canada” sponsored by the Chair in Canadian Jewish Studies of Concordia University and the Centre for Jewish Studies at York University, Montreal. (1996) 
  • The Distinctiveness of Babylonian Aggadah: Reflections on the Esther-Midrash. Canadian Society for Biblical Studies Annual Meeting, Calgary. (1994) 
  • Aims and Means in the Preparation of Critical Editions of Tractates from the Babylonian Talmud. Eleventh World Congress of Jewish Studies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. (1993) 
  • The Law of Retaliation. Annual Meeting of the Association for Research into Religious Studies and Theology, University of Alberta. (1991) 
  • Peace or Victory? — The Meaning of Purim in the Bible and Talmud. Canadian Society for Biblical Studies Conference on “Reading the Bible,” University of Calgary. (1990) 
  • Derash in Spite of Peshat: Some Medieval Justifications for Creative Exegesis. Annual Conference of the Association for Jewish Studies, Boston. (1989) 
  • Case Citation, Wishful Thinking and Some Misunderstood Talmudic Terms. Association for Jewish Studies Twentieth Annual Conference, Boston. (1988) 
  • The TB Megillah Esther Midrash and the Study of Babylonian Aggadah. Annual Conference of the Association for Jewish Studies, Boston. (1987) 
  • Megillah No.1: The Whole Megillah. Eliezer Segal (guest speaker), Adina Karp (executive producer, interviewer). Interleaved: A Talmudic Podcast. (2021) 

Reviews

In the News