Jewish Women You Should Know The Maiden of Ludmir

Hannah Rachel Verbermacher, more commonly known as the Maiden of Ludmir (Di Ludmirer Moid in Yiddish) was an extremely learned Hassidic woman who lived in Ludmir, in modern-day Ukraine as well as in the Land of Israel during the nineteenth century. Her learning and charisma were such that some had the habit of calling her Rebbe, the sole woman in Hassidic history ever to be referred to as such. Her extraordinary life has been rediscovered over the past decade. During her lifetime, she engendered a hefty amount of controversy owing to the fact that she was so unlike the women of her day. In our own age, her life and scholarship have been a source of tremendous interest and strength for female Torah scholars and others.

The Maiden of Ludmir was born in 1806, the only child of a well-to-do Hassidic family. As the only child, her father educated her as he would have had she been a boy. It has been said of her that at the age of six, she had the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible entirely memorized. As a child, she is believed to have spent countless hours learning Torah in seclusion, everything from the Talmud and Midrash to Hassidic works.

Following her mother’s death just before her twelfth birthday, which is the age at which a girl traditionally becomes a bat mitzvah, the Maiden of Ludmir vowed to take upon all of the positive time-bound mitzvot which women are traditionally exempted from, including laying tefillin and wearing a tallit, a four-cornered garment which Jews traditionally wear during morning prayers. On each of the four corners are fringes or tzitzit, which are meant to remind us of the mitzvot or commandments. She was incredibly punctilious about attending the synagogue for each of the thrice-daily prayers, and she prayed with an incredible amount of ecstasy and fervor which eventually attracted a not unsubstantial following. The fact that she had her own following, her own Hassidim as it were was so far removed from how women of her time lived that it caused quite a stir, particularly amongst the Hassidic male establishment. Some maintained that the Maiden of Ludmir had been possessed by the soul of a man.

An event with immense significance in the life of the Maiden of Ludmir was the religious vision she experienced one day while visiting her mother’s grave. In the vision, which caused her to remain in a coma for several days, she ascended to the heavenly realms where she was given an additional lofty soul. Following her vision, the Maiden of Ludmir’s erudition increased exponentially and she was able to expound upon texts she had not previously learned. It was also at this time that she became known as both a healer and a miracle worker. Many implored her to marry, and she did become engaged once during this period, but broke it off, deciding to dedicate herself entirely to learning and spiritual pursuits.

Following her father’s death when she was nineteen, the Maiden of Ludmir established her own beit Midrash, or house of study, her father having bequeathed her a substantial inheritance which allowed her to support herself and remain completely financially independent. She gave many discourses in her beit Midrash and, like many other Hassidic rebbes, is best known for the talks she would give on Shabbat afternoon at the third meal or Seudat Shlishit.

Although intensely devoted to Torah learning and her followers, the Maiden of Ludmir did eventually succumb to the pressure to marry, although it is not known how long her marriage lasted. Some say that it lasted only a few days, as her husband was afraid to consummate the union. Although married only a very short time, her marriage affected her scholarly erudition as well as her ability to heal and perform miracles. Sadly, the Maiden of Ludmir’s abilities in these areas decreased rapidly and along with the loss of the abilities went the loss of her following.

After several decades of diminishing influence the Maiden of Ludmir decided to live out the remainder of her life in the Land of Israel. In Jerusalem, the Maiden of Ludmir was able to reestablish a following. She is said to have prayed every day at the Kotel or Western Wall, to have lead large groups of women on pilgrimage to Rachel’s tomb on the 11th of Cheshvan, the date of her death. Rosh Chodesh was also a very significant date for her and her followers. While in Ludmir the Maiden of Ludmir attracted a mostly working-class following of both men and women, in Israel, she attracted a following from all strata of society, including, it is widely believed, Arab women.

The Maiden of Ludmir died on the 22nd of Tammuz, 1888. Her grave, on the Mt. of Olives in Jerusalem was recently rediscovered and has become a pilgrimage site for women, particularly those influenced by the teachings of the Jewish renewal movement. The Maiden of Ludmir’s life engendered a great deal of controversy owing to the fact that she was so learned and so atypical. Although women like her were incredibly rare, they serve as inspiration for many Jewish feminists and female Torah scholars today.