(JTA) — Is it appropriate to call an ancient rabbi a “legendary hottie”? To translate one Talmudic voice replying to another as, “Oh my God, what the actual f–k is wrong with you, you misogynistic ageist dips–t”?

Miriam Anzovin, an ex-Orthodox artist in Boston, ignited debate over those questions this week after making headlines in both North America and Israel for her series of TikTok videos responding to passages in the Talmud, the central text of rabbinic Judaism.

Anzovin’s way of talking about Talmud has been shocking for some. “This is a particularly provocative and crude use of texts sac...