Prof. Rivka Ulmer is Professor of Jewish Studies at Bucknell University. She holds M.A.s in linguistics, Jewish Studies, and American Studies and a Dr. phil. In Jewish Studies from Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität, and was a postdoctoral fellow at HUC-JIR Cincinnati. Ulmer is the author of Sing and Rejoice, O daughter of Zion (Zechariah 2:14)- Studies in Pesiqta Rabbati (Brill 2026); A Bilingual Edition of Pesiqta Rabbati: 2 Vol. (De Gruyter, 2017, 2022); Righteous Giving to the Poor (with Moshe Ulmer; Gorgias, 2014); Egyptian Cultural Icons in Midrash (de Gruyter, 2009); A Synoptic Edition Of Pesiqta Rabbati (University Press of America, 2008 [repr]); Turmoil, Trauma, and Triumph: The Fettmilch Uprising in Frankfurt am Main According to Megillas Vintz (Yale 2023 [repr]); The Evil Eye in the Bible and in Rabbinic Literature (Ktav, 1994); Poetry of Rebecca (Lehrhaus, 1986). She is also the (co-)editor of multiple volumes of Proceedings of the Midrash Section, Society of Biblical Literature, as well as Discussing Cultural Influences: Text, Context, and Non-Text in Rabbinic Judaism (University Press of America, 2007). Ulmer serves as the Chair of the Editorial Board, Judaism in Context Series (Gorgias Press) and was co-chair of the Midrash Section for the Society of Biblical Literature (2002-2023).
Last Updated
September 7, 2026
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At the climax of the binding of Isaac, Abraham sees אַיִל אַחַר “a ram behind” (MT)... or does he see אַיִל אֶחָד “one ram” (SP, LXX, etc.)? Both readings are developed in midrash: aḥar into Israel’s future redemption through the shofar, eḥad into the primordial ram created for the Akedah—two paths that converge in the shofar of Rosh Hashanah.
At the climax of the binding of Isaac, Abraham sees אַיִל אַחַר “a ram behind” (MT)... or does he see אַיִל אֶחָד “one ram” (SP, LXX, etc.)? Both readings are developed in midrash: aḥar into Israel’s future redemption through the shofar, eḥad into the primordial ram created for the Akedah—two paths that converge in the shofar of Rosh Hashanah.