Abigail Snyder

Abigail Snyder is a PhD student in the Department of Religious Studies (Judaism and Christianity in Antiquity). Her research focuses on the texts and material culture of the earliest rabbinic ("tannaitic") period. In particular, she is interested in reconstructing how the rabbis fashion a distinct culture after the destruction of the Second Temple, drawing from both their biblical legal heritage and the Greco-Roman cultural environment.

At UVA, Abigail is a Mark J. Friedman Family Jewish Studies Graduate Fellow and works as a graduate student assistant for the Jewish Studies Program.

Education

•    University of Virginia: PhD in Religious Studies (in progress)
            Area of study: Judaism and Christianity in Antiquity
•    University of Virginia: MA in Religious Studies (2026)
•    Hillsdale College: BA in English, minor in biology (2023) 

Research Interests

•    Rabbinic literature (Mishnah, Tosefta, halakhic/tannaitic midrash, Talmud)
•    Early rabbinic history and culture
•    Greco-Roman history and culture
•    Archaeology of Roman Palestine