{"id":8210,"date":"2016-02-07T00:01:57","date_gmt":"2016-02-06T22:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=8210"},"modified":"2018-05-24T12:32:46","modified_gmt":"2018-05-24T09:32:46","slug":"03-07-01","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/03-07-01\/","title":{"rendered":"01. Women\u2019s Connection to Torah"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Torah belongs to all of Israel, men and women alike. When we recite \u201cWho has chosen us from among all the nations\u201d in <\/span>Birkat Ha-Torah<\/span><\/i>, we mean that God chose all of Israel, men and women, and consequently \u201cgave us His Torah.\u201d There is an accepted tradition: If even one Jewish maidservant would have been absent at the time of the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, the giving would have been delayed. Likewise, the mitzva of <\/span>hak\u2019hel<\/span><\/i> (the assembly at the Temple at the end of the <\/span>Shemita <\/span><\/i>year, at which the king would read part of the Torah to all Israel) applies to men, women, and children (Devarim 31:12).<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, women are exempt from the mitzva to study Torah, as it is written: \u201cYou shall teach them to your sons, to speak them [\u2013 words of Torah]\u201d (Devarim 11:19). The Sages extrapolate: \u201cYour sons and not your daughters\u201d (<\/span>Kiddushin<\/span><\/i> 29b).<\/span><\/p>\n

However, when it comes to the general connection to the Torah, we find that women precede men. For example, when the Torah was given Moshe was instructed to address the women first. It is written: \u201cThus you shall say (<\/span>tomar<\/span><\/i>) to the house of Yaakov and tell (<\/span>tageid<\/span><\/i>) the sons of Israel\u201d (Shemot 19:3). The Sages teach, \u201cThe house of Yaakov\u201d (\u201cBeit Yaakov\u201d) refers to the women, who he must address in a gentle voice. \u201cThe sons of Israel\u201d refers to the men, to whom he must speak more harshly, telling them of punishments and particular details. The word \u201c<\/span>tageid<\/span><\/i>\u201d alludes to the body\u2019s tough sinews (\u201c<\/span>gidin<\/span><\/i>\u201d), connoting harshness. Further, the Sages derive from the introductory phrase \u201cThus you shall say\u201d that God instructed Moshe to be meticulous about this sequence, namely, first the women and then the men (<\/span>Mekhilta<\/span><\/i>, cited in Rashi).<\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover, we learn about proper respect for the Torah and respect for Torah scholars from the Shunamite woman, who would visit the prophet on Shabbat and Rosh \u0124odesh (2 Melakhim 4:23; RH 16b). It is no coincidence that respect for the Torah is learned from the example of a woman, because women have more of a connection to the sublime general aspect of the Torah (<\/span>Si\u0125ot Ha-Ritzya<\/span><\/i>, Shemot pp. 178-181).<\/span><\/p>\n

That is, there are two ways to connect to the Torah. One is intellectual: the mitzva for men to study Torah. The second is a general attachment, which pertains more to women. In daily life, the mitzva for men to study Torah is clearly more prominent; however, over the long-term, the holistic manner with which women relate to faith and to the Torah has a greater impact. This is the meaning of the Sages\u2019 dictum: \u201cGreater is the promise that God made to women than to men.\u201d The Sages explain that women received an extra guarantee by virtue of the fact that they send their sons to study Torah and encourage their husbands to study in the <\/span>beit midrash<\/span><\/i>, waiting happily for them to conclude their studies without pressuring them to come home soon (based on <\/span>Berakhot<\/span><\/i> 17a). <\/span><\/p>\n

It is the very exemption of women from the scrupulous study of the Torah\u2019s details that allows them to absorb the general, morals-oriented aspects of the Torah, thereby better enabling them to encourage their husbands and sons to study Torah and thus perpetuate the Torah among Israel. There is no doubt that men also have a profound connection to the holistic aspect of the Torah, for all the details and particular nuances stem from the Torah as a whole. By the same token, women, too, must know the parameters of the fundamentals of faith as well as practical <\/span>halakha<\/span><\/i>, as will be clarified in the next section. However, as a rule, men more easily connect to the Torah\u2019s precise definitions, whereas women connect to the general expression of the Torah in life. Through men and women together, the Torah is expressed in its entirety. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Torah belongs to all of Israel, men and women alike. When we recite \u201cWho has chosen us from among all the nations\u201d in Birkat Ha-Torah, we mean that God chose all of Israel, men and women, and consequently \u201cgave us His Torah.\u201d There is an accepted tradition: If even one Jewish maidservant would have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[111],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-03-07"],"yoast_head":"\n01. 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