The Role of Women
Level: Intermediate |
The role of women in traditional Judaism has been grossly misrepresented
and misunderstood. The position of women is not nearly as lowly as many modern
people think; in fact, the position of women in
halakhah (Jewish Law) that dates back to
the biblical period is in many ways better than the position of women under
American civil law as recently as a century ago. Many of the important feminist
leaders of the 20th century (Gloria Steinem, for example, and Betty Friedan)
are Jewish women, and some commentators have suggested that this is no
coincidence: the respect accorded to women in Jewish tradition was a part
of their ethnic culture.
In traditional Judaism, women are for the most part seen as separate but
equal. Women's obligations and responsibilities are different from men's,
but no less important (in fact, in some ways, women's responsibilities are
considered more important, as we shall see).
The equality of men and women begins at the highest possible level:
G-d. In Judaism, unlike Christianity, G-d has
never been viewed as exclusively male or masculine. Judaism has always maintained
that G-d has both masculine and feminine qualities. As one
rabbi explained it to me, G-d has no body, no
genitalia, therefore the very idea that G-d is male or female is patently
absurd. We refer to G-d using masculine terms simply for convenience's sake,
because Hebrew has no neutral gender; G-d is no more male than a table is.
Both man and woman were created in the image of G-d. According to most Jewish
scholars, "man" was created in Gen. 1:27 with dual gender, and was later
separated into male and female.
According to traditional Judaism, women are endowed with a greater degree
of "binah" (intuition, understanding, intelligence) than men. The
rabbis inferred this from the fact that woman
was "built" (Gen. 2:22) rather than "formed" (Gen. 2:7), and the Hebrew
root of "build" has the same consonants as the
word "binah." It has been said that the matriarchs (Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel
and Leah) were superior to the patriarchs
(Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob) in prophecy. Women did not participate
in the idolatry regarding the Golden Calf. See
Rosh Chodesh below. Some traditional
sources suggest that women are closer to G-d's ideal than men.
Women have held positions of respect in Judaism since biblical times.
Miriam is considered one of the liberators
of the Children of Israel, along with her
brothers Moses and
Aaron. One of the Judges (Deborah) was a woman.
Seven of the 55 prophets of the Bible were
women (they are included in the list
of biblical prophets).
The Ten Commandments require respect for both mother and father. Note that
the father comes first in Ex. 20:12, but the mother comes first in Lev. 19:3,
and many traditional sources point out that this reversal is intended to
show that both parents are equally entitled to honor and reverence.
There were many learned women of note. The
Talmud and later rabbinical writings speak
of the wisdom of Berurya, the wife of Rabbi Meir. In several instances, her
opinions on halakhah (Jewish Law) were accepted
over those of her male contemporaries. In the
ketubah (marriage contract) of
Rabbi Akiba's son, the wife is obligated to
teach the husband Torah! Many rabbis over the
centuries have been known to consult their wives on matters of Jewish law
relating to the woman's role, such as laws of
kashrut and women's
cycles. The wife of a rabbi is referred
to as a rebbetzin, practically a title of her own, which should give some
idea of her significance in Jewish life.
There can be no doubt, however, that the Talmud
also has many negative things to say about women. Various rabbis at various
times describe women as lazy, jealous, vain and gluttonous, prone to gossip
and particularly prone to the occult and witchcraft. Men are repeatedly advised
against associating with women, although this is usually because of man's
lust rather than because of any shortcoming in women. It is worth noting
that the Talmud also has negative things to say about men, frequently describing
men as particularly prone to lust and forbidden sexual desires.
Women are discouraged from pursuing higher education or religious pursuits,
but this seems to be primarily because women who engage in such pursuits
might neglect their primary duties as wives and mothers. The rabbis are not
concerned that women are not spiritual enough; rather, they are concerned
that women might become too spiritually devoted.
The rights of women in traditional Judaism are much greater than they were
in the rest of Western civilization until this century. Women had the right
to buy, sell, and own property, and make their own contracts, rights which
women in Western countries (including America) did not have until about 100
years ago. In fact, Proverbs 31:10-31, which is traditionally read at Jewish
weddings, speaks repeatedly of business acumen as a trait to be prized in
women (v. 11, 13, 16, and 18 especially).
Women have the right to be consulted with regard to their
marriage. Marital
sex is regarded as the woman's right, and not
the man's. Men do not have the right to beat or mistreat their wives, a right
that was recognized by law in many Western countries until a few hundred
years ago. In cases of rape, a woman is generally presumed not to have consented
to the intercourse, even if she enjoyed it, even if she consented after the
sexual act began and declined a rescue! This is in sharp contrast to American
society, where even today rape victims often have to overcome public suspicion
that they "asked for it" or "wanted it." Traditional Judaism recognizes that
forced sexual relations within the context of marriage are rape and are not
permitted; in many states in America, rape within marriage is still not a
criminal act.
There is no question that in traditional Judaism, the primary role of a woman
is as wife and mother, keeper of the household. However, Judaism has great
respect for the importance of that role and the spiritual influence that
the woman has over her family. The Talmud says
that when a pious man marries a wicked woman, the man becomes wicked, but
when a wicked man marries a pious woman, the man becomes pious. Women are
exempted from all positive commandments
("thou shalts" as opposed to "thou shalt nots") that are time-related (that
is, commandments that must be performed at a specific time of the day or
year), because the woman's duties as wife and mother are so important that
they cannot be postponed to fulfill a commandment. After all, a woman cannot
be expected to just drop a crying baby when the time comes to perform a
commandment.
It is this exemption from certain commandments that has led to the greatest
misunderstanding of the role of women in Judaism. First, many people make
the mistake of thinking that this exemption is a prohibition. On the contrary,
although women are not obligated to perform time-based positive commandments,
they are generally permitted to observe such commandments if they choose.
Second, because this exemption diminishes the role of women in the
synagogue, many people perceive that women
have no role in Jewish religious life. This misconception derives from the
mistaken assumption that Jewish religious life revolves around the synagogue.
It does not; it revolves around the home, where the woman's role is every
bit as important as the man's.
In Jewish tradition, there are three mitzvot
(commandments) that are reserved for women: nerot (lighting candles), challah
(separating a portion of dough), and niddah
(ritual immersion after the end of a woman's menstrual period). If a woman
is present who can perform these mitzvot, the privilege of fulfilling the
mitzvah is reserved for the woman. Two of these mitzvot can be performed
by a man if no woman is present. The third, for reasons of biology, is limited
to the woman. All of these mitzvot are related to the home and the family,
areas where the woman is primarily responsible.
The first of these women's mitzvot is nerot (literally, "lights") or hadlakat
ha-ner (literally, "lighting the lights"), that is, the privilege of lighting
candles to mark the beginning of the Shabbat
or a holiday. The lighting of candles officially
marks the beginning of sacred time for the home; once candles are lit, any
restrictions or observances of the holiday are in effect. The lighting of
candles is a rabbinical mitzvah, rather than
a mitzvah from the Torah. See
Halakhah: Jewish Law for an explanation
of the distinction.
The second woman's mitzvah is challah, that is, the privilege of separating
a portion of dough from bread before baking it. This commandment comes from
Num. 15:20, where we are commanded to set aside a portion of dough for the
kohein. This commandment is only in full effect in Israel; however, the rabbis
determined that Jews throughout the world should be reminded of this mitzvah
by separating a piece of dough before baking it and burning the dough. You
may have noticed that on boxes of matzah at
Pesach, there is usually a notation that says
"Challah Has Been Taken," which means that this mitzvah has been fulfilled
for the matzah. Note that this mitzvah has little to do with the traditional
Shabbat bread, which is also called "challah." See
Jewish Food: Challah for more
information about the Shabbat bread.
The third woman's mitzvah is the obligation to immerse herself in a mikvah
(ritual bath) after the end of her menstrual period. The Torah prohibits
sexual intercourse during a woman's menstrual period. This ritual immersion
marks the end of that period of separation and the resumption of the couple's
sexual activities. For more information about this practice, see
Kosher Sex: Niddah.
Some sources point out that the name Chanah is an acronym of the names of
these three mitzvot (Challah, Niddah, and Hadlakat HaNer).
In the Bible, Chanah was the mother of Samuel
and a prophetess. She is considered in Jewish
tradition to be a role model for women.
Rosh Chodesh, the first day of each month,
is a minor festival. There is a custom that women do not work on Rosh Chodesh.
A midrash teaches that each of the Rosh Chodeshim
was originally intended to represent the one of the twelve tribes of Israel,
just as the three major festivals (Pesach,
Sukkot and
Shavu'ot) each represent one of the three
patriarchs. However, because of the sin
of the Golden Calf, the holiday was taken away from the men and given to
women, as a reward for the women's refusal to participate in the construction
of the Golden Calf.
How do we know that women didn't participate in the Golden Calf incident?
The midrash notes that Exodus 32 says that "the people" came to Aaron and
asked him to make an idol. Aaron told them to get the golden rings from their
wives and their sons and their daughters. Note that the biblical verse doesn't
say anything about "the people" getting the rings from their husbands, only
from wives and sons and daughters, from which we can infer that "the people"
in question were the men. Then Ex. 32:3 says that "the people" broke off
the golden rings that were in their ears. The bible does not
say that they got the gold from their wives and sons and daughters; rather,
it says that "the people" (i.e., the same people) gave their own gold. The
midrash explains that the men went back to their wives and the wives refused
to give their gold to the creation of an idol. As a reward for this, the
women were given the holiday that was intended to represent the tribes.
To understand the limited role of women in
synagogue life, it is important to understand
the nature of commandments in Judaism
and the separation of men and women.
Judaism recognizes that it is mankind's nature to rebel against authority;
thus, one who does something because he is commanded to is regarded with
greater merit than one who does something because he chooses to. The person
who refrains from pork because it is a commandment has more merit than the
person who refrains from pork because he doesn't like the taste. In addition,
the commandments, burdens, obligations, that were given to the
Jewish people are regarded as a privilege,
and the more commandments one is obliged to observe, the more privileged
one is.
Because women are not obligated to perform certain commandments, their observance
of those commandments does not "count" for group purposes. Thus, a woman's
voluntary attendance at daily worship services
does not count toward a minyan (the 10 people
necessary to recite certain prayers), a woman's voluntary recitation of certain
prayers does not count on behalf of the group (thus women cannot lead services),
and a woman's voluntary reading from the
Torah does not count towards the community's
obligation to read from the Torah.
In addition, because women are not obligated to perform as many commandments
as men are, women are regarded as less privileged. It is in this light that
one must understand the man's prayer thanking G-d
for "not making me a woman." The prayer does not indicate that it is bad
to be a woman, but only that men are fortunate to be privileged to have more
obligations. The corresponding women's prayer, thanking G-d for making me
"according to his will," is not a statement of resignation to a lower status
(hardly an appropriate sentiment for prayer!) On the contrary, this prayer
should be understood as thanking G-d for giving women greater binah, for
making women closer to G-d's idea of spiritual perfection, and for all the
joys of being a woman generally.
 The second thing that must be understood is the separation of
men and women during prayer. According to Jewish Law, men and women must
be separated during prayer, usually by a wall or curtain called a mechitzah
or by placing women in a second floor balcony. There are two reasons for
this: first, your mind is supposed to be on prayer, not on the pretty girl
praying near you. Second, many pagan religious ceremonies at the time Judaism
was founded involved sexual activity and orgies, and the separation prevents
or at least discourages this.
The combination of this exemption from certain commandments and this separation
often has the result that women have an inferior place in the synagogue.
Woman's obligations in the home (which are the reason why women are exempt
from time-based commandments like formal prayer services) often keep them
away from synagogue. In several synagogues that I have attended, the women's
section is poorly climate controlled, and women cannot see (sometimes can't
even hear!) what's going on in the men's section, where the services are
being led. Women are not obligated by Jewish law to attend formal religious
services, and cannot participate in many aspects of the services (traditional
Jewish services have a very high degree of "audience participation" -- and
I'm not just talking about community readings, I'm talking about actively
taking part in running the service).
But as I said before, this restriction on participation in synagogue life
does not mean that women are excluded the Jewish religion, because the Jewish
religion is not just something that happens in synagogue. Judaism is something
that permeates every aspect of your life, every thing that you do, from the
time you wake up in the morning to the time you go to bed, from what you
eat and how you dress to how you conduct business. Prayer services are only
a small, though important, part of the Jewish religion.
Lilith is a character who appears in passing in the
Talmud and in
rabbinical folklore. She is a figure of evil,
a female demon who seduces men and threatens babies and women in childbirth.
She is described as having long hair and wings (Erub. 100b; Nid. 24b). It
is said that she seizes men who sleep in a house alone, like a succubus (Shab.
151b). She is also mentioned in midrashim
and kabbalistic works, in which she is considered
to be the mother of demons. Her name probably comes from the
Hebrew word for night (laila). She is similar
to and probably based on a pagan demon named Lulu or Lilu that appears in
Gilgamesh and other Sumerian and Babylonian folklore.
In recent years, some women have tried to reinvent Lilith, turning her into
a role model for women who do not accept male domination or a rival goddess
to the traditions that they think are too male-biased. For example, a number
of female musical artists participated a concert tour called "Lilith Fair"
a few years ago, and the name "Lilith" was clearly chosen to represent female
empowerment.
This revisionist view of Lilith is based primarily on a medieval work called
the Alphabet of Ben Sira, the significance of which has been widely
misinterpreted and overrated. The story of Lilith in Ben Sira claims that
Lilith was the first wife of Adam. Lilith insisted on being on top when they
were having sexual intercourse, claiming that she was Adam's equal. For this
reason, Adam rejected the uppity Lilith, and Lilith was replaced with the
more submissive second spouse, Eve. The complete story is presented
here.
Many modern commentators have pounced on this story, claiming that it comes
from the Talmud and reflects the traditional rabbinical understanding of
the roles of men and women. Feminists reject the negative characterization
of Lilith's actions in this story, and make Lilith out to be a hero who was
demonized by male-chauvinist rabbis who did not want women to have any sexual
power.
However, it is important to note that the Alphabet of Ben Sira is not a
traditional rabbinical Jewish source. It is not part of the Talmud, nor is
it considered to be a midrash. It is not entirely certain what Ben Sira is,
but it appears to be a satire or parody, possibly even an antisemitic one.
It tells many stories about biblical characters envisioned in non-traditional,
often unflattering ways, often with slapstick humor at the expense of traditional
heroes. See this
critique
of the use of Ben Sira to turn Lilith into a feminist hero.
To treat The Alphabet of Ben Sira as a reflection of traditional Jewish thought
is like treating Cervantes' Don Quixote as an accurate depiction of chivalry,
or Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles as a documentary of the American West.
Project Genesis offers an online course
on Women in Judaism, covering
subjects such as equality between men and women in Judaism, faith, prayer,
relationships, and feminine intuition.
Kresel's Korner, written by
an Orthodox woman, addresses many of the questions that people have about
the role of women in Orthodoxy. Kresel is an intelligent, well-educated woman
who responds to many feminist critiques of Orthodoxy and illustrates a very
different kind of female empowerment.
© Copyright 5756-5762 (1995-2002), Tracey
R Rich
|
