Professor Dr. Rebecca Wollenberg

Biography

Rebecca Scharbach Wollenberg is an Assistant Professor of Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and an M.A. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she focused on the intersection of Jewish Studies and history. Her research interests include the Hebrew Bible, scriptural figures, and biblical criticism, particularly in the context of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. She examines how early rabbinic thinkers engaged with canonical texts in ways similar to their Greco-Roman and Christian contemporaries. Her forthcoming book, 'Closed Book: Rabbis Taught Jews (Not) Read Bible', aims to challenge assumptions about the ambivalence of classical rabbinic authorities towards written revelation. Wollenberg's teaching includes various courses on biblical reception history, such as 'Lost Books Rewrote Bible' and 'Contemporary Questions Biblical Answers', which explore the afterlives of biblical texts and their relevance to contemporary issues.

Research Interests