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Tough Topics - The Images and Roles of Men and Women
There are two main understandings of the creation of men and women (Genesis 1—2): one is that man and woman are created together, as one:
“He created humanity (Adam) – male and female he created.” This is seen as a statement about the original and ultimate equality of male and female in the Jewish tradition but also about the essential difference between men and women. That is, humanity has its feminine and its masculine aspects.
The second explanation is that Adam (humanity) was first created from dust—to indicate that humans belong to the earth—and then the spark of holiness was breathed into him to show that our aim must be to soar higher and to aspire to God. Eve (the life-giver) is then created, in this story, from Adam’s rib.
There are many midrashim (exploring and explaining stories) about the role of the rib. One is that woman does not come from man’s head, lest she dominate him; nor from his foot, lest he oppress her; but rather from near his heart, so that they should love one another. In another midrash (singular of ‘midrashim’), woman does not come from the head, so as not to be light-headed, nor from the eye, so as not to be vain. The ear might have led to eavesdropping and the mouth to gossip. The hand might have made her a thief and the foot a gadabout. But she was formed from the rib—an unseen part of the body and shield of the heart. In this way, woman is seen as an essentially private person, not only a bearer of human life within her but also a protector of humanity’s spiritual and inner nature.
Some of the ancient rabbis believed that women were 'naturally' more soulful and more readily directed to God than men could be and so women came to be exempt from certain mitzvot (commandments) as though they needed them less and could be 'holy' without performing certain specified 'holy' actions.
It has also been said that a man’s day-to-day activities mean that he needs extra mitzvot, that is, saying the Shema, wearing t’filin, wearing tzitzit, counting the omer, hearing the shofar, dwelling in the Sukkah and taking the lulav. A woman is not prevented from carrying out these mitzvot, only exempt from them.
Another reason given for women’s exemption from positive, time-related mitzvot is that their lives are more likely to focus on pregnancy, breast-feeding and other aspects of child-rearing and family life. If they are absorbed by their own bodily changes and the welfare of their children—which are more important—they cannot also be available for the mitzvot involved in public worship.
In practice, women perform all the mitzvot from which they are exempt (except possibly tallit and t’filin). The fact that these are optional gives them more meaning for some women because they can be more spontaneous and sincere. At the same time, however, the fact that they are optional reduces their general, objective meaning. The value of mitzvah is that God it commands it. If someone who is not commanded does it, it has no value.
The essence of Judaism is for individual Jews to live their lives according to God’s will for them, and the main idea is that men and women are physically, emotionally and spiritually different—equal but different.
There is one area of public life in which differences between women and men have developed over centuries: the study of Torah. Jewish girls and boys alike are encouraged to pursue secular subjects and, in the modern age, Jewish women have advanced in education and a career as far as men and as far as non-Jewish women: Jewish women are to be found in all aspects of higher learning and in all the professions. Women and men are equally expected to fulfil their potential and there is no Jewish reason why a woman cannot both pursue a career and raise a family.
In religious study and careers, it has been a different story. There were, indeed, female rabbis in the Talmudic period, the most famous being Bruriah, a rabbi’s wife! But, at times, the teaching of Torah to women has been discouraged, in the opinion that women will not devote themselves fully to it and their superficial knowledge will be distorted and harmful. Against this are the views that well-motivated women will study as deeply as men and, anyway, that Torah is not a mental abstraction: Torah is meant to be realised in practice, of which both man and women are capable.
Isaac Bashevis Singer’s book, Yentl, the Yeshiva Boy is about a girl! Yentl meets both attitudes to the education of women; her father sees her quick, sharp mind and her hunger for knowledge, and he helps her to grow intellectually. But where she lived, only boys went to yeshivah to study further: life becomes very complicated for Yentl when she therefore disguises herself as a boy!
In Progressive Judaism, men and women have complete equality of opportunity in education, public worship and community functions. Bat mitzvah is on a par with Bar Mitzvah; women are called to lead prayer, read Torah and share ideas in public worship; women may also become rabbis.
There is, however, a dilemma at the heart of any Jewish view of men and women. The Orthodox approach restricts individual scope by prescribing certain general roles but stresses distinctive masculinity and femininity; it prevents a woman from performing in public religious life, but promotes the private spirituality she represents. The Progressive approach stresses equality of men and women at the expense of their differences. Women may take their place alongside men in courts, meetings and services of worship but their uniquely feminine qualities are usually not especially honoured. This is either a problem that Jewish society will have to solve or else a paradox it will have to live with.