Women In Judaism

Stephen Gustofik
4/23/05
Mid-Term Paper #2

Judaism – The Role of Women

If there are differences among various different cultures, it's the way they portray women. For example, the overall role of women in our society is mainly two different things – to clean the house, take care of the kids, and to be used as a ‘sex tool'. In other cultures, such as Judaism, women are viewed as more spiritual and intellectual. Today, I am going to define the way women are viewed in the Judaism culture as well as how it applies to the culture today. First of all, I'd like to say that the role of women in traditional Judaism has been vastly misunderstood. The modern man thinks that the Judaism culture belittles the women in their culture and are low on the chain of command; however, the role of women in halakhah, or Jewish law, whom dates back to the biblical period are in many ways better than the position of women who are under American civil law, as recent as a century ago. (Jewfaq.com) Most of the high powered feminist leaders of the twentieth century (such as Gloria Steinem) are Jewish women, and some commentators have reiterated that this is no coincidence: the respect accorded to women in Jewish tradition was also a part of their ethnic culture.
In traditional Judaism, women are for the most part seen as separate, but at the same time are seen equally. Women's obligations and duties are different from a mans, but it isn't less important; in fact, there are some ways in which women's responsibilities are considered more important than men's. The equality of men and women was first begun at the highest possible level, which was referred to as G-d. In Judaism, unlike Christian, G-d has never been viewed as exclusively as male or masculine. Judaism has always maintained that G-d has both masculine and feminine qualities. G-d has no body, no genitalia, therefore the idea that G-d is either male or female is completely wrong. G-d is referred to by using masculine terms simply for convenience's sake, because Hebrew has no neutral gender; G-d is not is no more male than a table is. (Faith.org) One more thing about G-d: both man and woman were created in the image of this level, G-d, but according to most Jewish scholars, "man" was created in Gen. 1:27 with both men and women genitalia, whom was later separated into male and female. Next, I'd like to start off by saying that there are also many learned women of note.
The Talmud and later rabbinical writings speak the wisdom of Berurya, whom the life of Rabbi Meir was. Beruya's opinions on halakhah were accepted over those of her male contemporaries on several instances. In her son's marriage contract, the wife is obligated to teach the husband Torah. Many rabbis over the centuries have been known to consult their wives on matters of the Jewish law that relates to the women'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 us all some type of idea of her significant in Jewish life.
(Jewfaq.com) There are also some negative things that the Talmud has said about women. For instance, various rabbis at many different instances describe women as lazy, jealous, vain and overweight, prone to gossip and particularly to witchcraft. Men are always encouraged against associating with women, although this is usually because of man's lust as it is because of any shortcoming in women. It is also worth noting that the Talmud also has negative things about men. The Talmud says that men are particularly prone to lust and forbidden sexual desires. Women are highly discouraged from pursuing higher education or religious pursuits, but this is only because women who engage in such pursuits may be neglecting their main duties as a wife and mother. The rabbis are not concerned that women are not spiritual enough; but they are concerned that women would become too spiritually devoted. Women also have a right to be notified in regard to their marriage. Marital sex is considered as a woman's right, and not the man's. Men are not allowed to beat or mistreat their wives, as it is 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 if they "wanted it." Traditional Judaism recognizes that forced sexual relations within the context of marriage are rape and are not permitted; in many state in America, rape within marriage is not considered a criminal act.