About
Prof. Rabbi Laura Lieber serves as the Chair of Transregional Religious History at the University of Regensburg, Germany, where she specializes in Jewish liturgical traditions and poetry from late antiquity.
Her educational background includes a Ph.D. in the History of Judaism from the University of Chicago and rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in Cincinnati.
Dr. Lieber's research primarily focuses on Jewish liturgical poetry (piyyut), particularly from Late Antiquity. She examines how ancient Jewish poets interpreted biblical texts through liturgical compositions, with special attention to the works of Yannai (5th/6th century C.E.) and Yose ben Yose (4th century C.E.). Her scholarship bridges historical, linguistic, and theological approaches to understanding how Jewish communities expressed their religious identity through poetry.
Her publications reveal a consistent interest in the intersection of biblical interpretation and liturgical practice, particularly how ancient synagogue poetry transformed scriptural narratives for communal worship. Her work spans multiple Jewish holidays including Passover, Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, and Shavuot, demonstrating how liturgical poetry shaped Jewish ritual experience across different historical periods.
Dr. Lieber has authored significant scholarly works including Jewish Aramaic Poetry from Late Antiquity: Translations and Commentaries, A Vocabulary of Desire: The Song of Songs in the Early Synagogue, and Yannai on Genesis: An Invitation to Piyyut, establishing her as a leading authority in the field of ancient Jewish liturgical poetry.
