Mira Bal­berg is Pro­fes­sor of His­to­ry and Endowed Chair in Ancient Jew­ish Civ­i­liza­tion at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Cal­i­for­nia, San Diego. She is author of Puri­ty, Body, and Self in Ear­ly Rab­binic Lit­er­a­ture and Blood for Thought: The Rein­ven­tion of Sac­ri­fice in Ear­ly Rab­binic Lit­er­a­ture and coau­thor of When Near Becomes Far: Old Age in Rab­binic Lit­er­a­ture.