Dr. Gal Sela is a scholar of rabbinic literature whose comparative research examines the figure of the holy man in both rabbinic and monastic traditions, alongside ascetic and theurgic practices in early Judaism and Christianity, and the complex intersections between magic and religion. Her current project reconstructs Judeo-Persian apocalyptic and mystical traditions associated with the holy man, drawing on both canonical and esoteric sources.
E-mail: Gal.Sela@theologie.uni-regensburg.de
Telephone: +49 941 943 5966
CV
Academic positions
| since 2025 | Research Associate at the Professorship for Transregional History of Religion, Prof. Dr Laura Lieber, DIMAS |
| 2024 - 2026 | Postdoctoral fellow, Beyond Canon_: Advanced Studies Centre, Faculty of Theology, University of Regensburg |
Academic education
| 2013 - 2022 | PhD at the Department of Hebrew and Comparative Literature, University of Haifa, Israel. Topic: Theurgy in the Babylonian Talmud: A New Taxonomy of the Holy Man; Supervisors: Prof. Dina Stein and Prof. Haim Weiss |
| 2010 - 2013 | M.A. in Comparative Literature, University of Haifa; Topic: The Postmodern Subject as Reflected From Michel Houellebecq's Novels |
| 2003 - 2006 | B.A. in Comparative Literature and Psychology, University of Haifa, Israel |
Research
Research Interests
- Rabbinic Literature Studies
- Jewish folklore and Rabbinic Literature
- Jewish apocrypha and Second Temple literature
- Aesthetics of Midrash and Aggadah
- The holy man in rabbinic and monastic literature
- Magic, theurgy and asceticism in late antique
- Rabbinic literature and ancient Christianity
- Rabbinic literature and early Islam |
- Literature Studies | Philosophy and literature | Post-structuralism and literature theory | Discourse analysis | comparative reading strategies | Folklore studies | Ethnography |Philology |
Third-party Funds and Research Funding
- 2021 Research grant, ISF Foundation project: ‘Israel Folktale Archives: Authors and Narrators,’ Israel Folktale Archives (IFA). Prof. Galit Hasan-Rokem and Prof. Dina Stein.
- 2020 ISF Foundation, Advanced studies grant for young scholars. 2018 Jewish History Award, Faculty of Humanities, University of Haifa.
- 2017 Student research grant from ISF Foundation project: ‘Israel Folktale Archives: Sites of Memory and Competing Narratives,’ Israel Folktale Archives (IFA). Prof. Dina Stein et al. Dov Sadan Award For Young Scholars, School of Jewish Studies and Archeology, University of Tel Aviv.
- 2016 Student research grant from GIF Foundation project: ‘Ten Lost Tribes,’ University of Haifa. Prof. Dina Stein and Dr. Micha Perry.
- PublikationenProjekte und Vernetzung
Publications
"The Ecotype and the Conglomerate as Hermeneutic Notions: The Magical Sleep of Honi the Circle-maker." Jerusalem Studies in Jewish Folklore, vol. 42, 2022, pp. 1–42.
"Theorizing Rabbinic Folklore: The Miraculous Sleep of the Holy Man." Jewish Folklore and Ethnology, vol. 3, 2024, pp. 21–47.
"Claiming the Holy: The Legacy of Jesus as a Folk Hero in Rabbinic and Ecclesiastical Literature after the First Council of Nicaea." Review of Ecumenical Studies, forthcoming Aug. 2025.
With Karen Barkey, ‘Egalitarian and Inclusive Judaism at the Margins: The Stavroulakis’ Haggadah and the Question of Jewish Identity,’ (in preparation).