(ו)...וּמְבָרֵךְ אָדָם בְּכָל יוֹם...בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁלֹּא עָשַׂנִי אִשָּׁה.
(6)...every day, a person should recite:...Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who has not made me a woman.
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How does reading this excerpt make you feel?
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Why would a man praise G-d for not being made a woman?
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What does this tell you about the writers of such a commandment?
Normative Judaism is Male
(כו) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֔ים נַֽעֲשֶׂ֥ה אָדָ֛ם בְּצַלְמֵ֖נוּ כִּדְמוּתֵ֑נוּ.
(26) And God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”
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What does it mean to be created in the image of G-d?
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What implications does this quote have about the gender of G-d?
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Does this excerpt imply that all men (and only men) possess divine attributes?
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Where does this leave women?
Family Laws
(ו) לֹא יִבָּטֵל אָדָם מִפְּרִיָּה וּרְבִיָּה, אֶלָּא אִם כֵּן יֶשׁ לוֹ בָנִים...הָאִישׁ מְצֻוֶּה עַל פְּרִיָּה וּרְבִיָּה, אֲבָל לֹא הָאִשָּׁה.
(6) A man may not neglect the mitzva to be fruitful and multiply unless he already has children...A man is commanded with regard to the mitzva to be fruitful and multiply, but not a woman.
- How does the man’s incentive/requirements to have children affect the agency of the woman?
- Why not also command women to have children?
(א) האשה נקנית בשלש דרכים וקונה א"ע בשתי דרכים נקנית בכסף בשטר בביאה.
(1) A wife is acquired in 3 ways and can acquire herself in 2 ways. She can be acquired with money, contract or sex.
- How do you feel about the language used to describe marriage?
- Why do you think these laws are put in place?
״אִשָּׁה טוֹבָה מַתָּנָה טוֹבָה לְבַעְלָהּ״... ״אִשָּׁה רָעָה צָרַעַת לְבַעְלָהּ״...״יְגָרְשֶׁנָּה וְיִתְרַפֵּא מִצָּרַעְתּוֹ״. ״אִשָּׁה יָפֶה אַשְׁרֵי בַּעְלָהּ, מִסְפַּר יָמָיו כִּפְלַיִם״.
A good wife is a good gift for her husband...a bad wife is a plague to her husband. He should divorce her and he will be cured of his plague. A beautiful wife, happy is her husband; the number of his days are doubled.
- How does this language serve to devalue women?
- What kind of stereotypes is this creating and/or perpetuating?
(ב)...וְהָיָה אִם לֹא תִמְצָא חֵן בְּעֵינָיו וְכָתַב לָהּ סֵפֶר כְּרִיתֻת...שֶׁאֵינוֹ מְגָרֵשׁ אֶלָּא בִּרְצוֹנוֹ. וְאִם נִתְגָּרְשָׁה שֶׁלֹּא בִּרְצוֹנוֹ אֵינָהּ מְגֹרֶשֶׁת. אֲבָל הָאִשָּׁה מִתְגָּרֶשֶׁת בִּרְצוֹנָהּ וְשֶׁלֹּא בִּרְצוֹנָהּ:
(2)...And if it comes to pass that she does not find favor in his eyes, and he will write a bill of divorce for her...this indicates that he divorces her only on his own initiative. If a woman is divorced against her husband's will, the divorce is invalid. A woman may, however, be divorced either voluntarily or against her will.
- Why not give women the right to divorce their husbands?
- How does reading this law make you feel?
Laws that Exclude Females
וְכׇל מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה שֶׁהַזְּמַן גְּרָמָהּ – אֲנָשִׁים חַיָּיבִין וְנָשִׁים פְּטוּרוֹת.
With regard to all positive, time-bound mitzvot, i.e., those which must be performed at specific times, men are obligated to perform them and women are exempt.
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Why exclude women from certain laws, and why choose to include them when they could’ve been excluded?
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What does this say about the creators and enforcers of such laws and their views of women?
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Do you think that a woman's role in Judaism is equally as important as a man’s role?
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Why or why not?
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Laws that Focus on Females
עַל שָׁלֹשׁ עֲבֵירוֹת נָשִׁים מֵתוֹת בִּשְׁעַת לֵידָתָן: עַל שֶׁאֵינָן זְהִירוֹת בַּנִּדָּה, בַּחַלָּה, וּבְהַדְלָקַת הַנֵּר.
For three transgressions women are punished and die during childbirth: For the fact that they are not careful in observing the laws of a menstruating woman, and in separating ḥalla from the dough, and in lighting the Shabbat lamp.
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What do all three of these obligations have in common?
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How does this relate to what you read in the previous source?
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Does the fact that women have their own obligations just like men do affect how you see gender equality in Judaism?
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Why put such emphasis on prohibiting relations with women but not men?
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Why is it assumed that coming near to a woman will lead to sexual relations?
אֶֽל־הָאִשָּׁ֣ה אָמַ֗ר הַרְבָּ֤ה אַרְבֶּה֙ עִצְּבוֹנֵ֣ךְ וְהֵֽרֹנֵ֔ךְ בְּעֶ֖צֶב תֵּֽלְדִ֣י בָנִ֑ים וְאֶל־אִישֵׁךְ֙ תְּשׁ֣וּקָתֵ֔ךְ וְה֖וּא יִמְשׇׁל־בָּֽךְ׃
In hardship shall you bear children. Yet your urge shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.
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How does this excerpt portray Jewish women in a positive light and how does it portray them in a negative light?
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How does the traditional role of a Jewish woman create and perpetuate gender inequality?
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What are the similarities between these laws focused on women?
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What does this say about the creators and enforcers of such laws and their views of women?
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Does Beauty Matter?
״אִשָּׁה יָפֶה אַשְׁרֵי בַּעְלָהּ, מִסְפַּר יָמָיו כִּפְלַיִם״.
A beautiful wife, happy is her husband; the number of his days are doubled. His pleasure in her beauty makes him feel as though he has lived twice as long.
- What does this say about the importance of a woman's appearance?
- How does this source devalue women?
(30) Grace is deceptive, Beauty is illusory; It is for her fear of the LORD That a woman is to be praised.
- How does this source contradict the previous source?
- Which stance do you believe Jewish practices are most aligned with - the one this source takes or the one the previous source takes?
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What are the possible effects each stance has on women?
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What about the effects on men?
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Biblical Women: Dinah
(1) Now Dinah, the daughter whom Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land. (2) Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, chief of the country, saw her, and took her and lay with her and disgraced her.
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From your understandin,g what has happened to Dinah?
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Why is Dinah described as the daughter of Leah and Jacob rather than the daughter of Jacob (as biblical characters are usually described)?
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How does the language take away her agency?
(ה) וענין ותצא דינה למדך שיצאה מקושטת כשם שיצאה לאה אמה שהזכיר בה הכתוב (בראשית ל׳:ט״ז) ותצא לאה לקראתו. כלומר יצאנית בת יצאנית. והכתוב מגנה את האשה כשהיא יצאנית, הוא שכתוב (משלי ז׳:י״א-י״ב) הומיה היא וסוררת בביתה לא ישכנו רגליה, פעם בחוץ פעם ברחובות, אבל כשהיא צנועה ועומדת בביתה הכתוב משבחה שנאמר (תהילים מ״ה:י״ד) כל כבודה בת מלך פנימה
(5) The reason the Torah describes Dinah as “Dinah the daughter of Leah went out,” when we all know she was Leah’s daughter is because she was trying to attract attention to herself; she had bedecked herself (Bereshit Rabbah 80,1). She proved to be a true daughter of her mother who had also attracted attention to herself by leaving her tent as we have been told in 30,16. Scripture is critical of women who leave the security and modest environment of their homes unnecessarily. Solomon wrote in Proverbs 7,11-12 “She is loud and rebellious, her feet would not stay home. Now outside, now in the streets, she lurks at every corner.” David had written about a woman who stays at home. that “the true measure of a princess is found in the fact that she remains indoors.” (Psalms 45,14)
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How does the Torah participate in victim blaming as we see in the case of Dinah?
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How does this reflect the perspective of the authors of the Torah?
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How does this reflect what we see in our modern day?
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How does this excerpt relate to the view of women that we read in the previous excerpts on the female role in the traditional Jewish home?
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Do you think Dinah deserved what happened to her?
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How could this situation have been prevented or handled differently?
Making Changes
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Do you find Freier’s messages more empowering or invalidating? Why?
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How is she implying change is made within Judaism?
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What was it that made these ‘adaptations to changes’ that Levitt is referring to possible?
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How does her language remove some of her agency?
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What are some possible benefits and drawbacks that could come from employing these different tactics?
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How does Judaism’s history of being created ‘by men, for men, through men’ - as Goldstein states - affect women’s ability to progress towards equality?
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How do these tactics account for and overcome this obstacle?
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In addition to being able to ask the questions posed by Goldstein, what are some benefits that come from women ‘adapting to changes made possible for them,’ as Levitt (from the previous source) puts it?
Reflection
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Was there anything about these sources that surprised you, challenged you, or left you with lingering questions?
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Do any of these sources lead you to reevaluate how you see Jewish practice?
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How do you think the stereotypes presented in the text were created and perpetuated?
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How can we work to put an end to these stereotypes?
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How can we approach these practices and beliefs from a feminist perspective to progress towards gender equality?
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What are some opportunities we can take to counter gender inequality, both in Judaism and in general?
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How much does Judaism have to change to promote gender equality?
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What are the pros and cons of changing Jewish practices and beliefs in these ways?
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