Women in Judaism

As previously mentioned, I will do my best to tackle the titular topic. I'm going to stay away from issues of tum'ah and taharah, because I am almost entirely ignorant with regard to such matters; I apologize to those who find them to be essential to the matter. Hopefully there will still be enough material to respond to.

Men and women are different. Physically, this is uncontroversially true. Emotionally, there is more debate and the extent is not clear, but statistically significant differences have been consistently observed from infancy onward. Intellectually, there is even more controversy. Generally, one of my main hashkafic tools has been to try to learn by analogy from what is clear to what is less so, and so I am comfortable with the idea that there are differences at every level. That is not to say that one is superior to the other; indeed, I strongly reject such a position. However, each has particular strengths and weaknesses that compliment each other and it is thus reasonable to have different roles and expectations for each. I will argue that the traditional roles in Judaism are, when properly implemented, of equal value, power, and dignity.

As a general framework for the relation between the two roles, again I turn to analogy from what is obvious to what is not. The clearest instance of complementary roles that creatively achieve what neither could alone is conception and childbirth. From this we learn that men's roles naturally tend toward potential and women's toward actualization. 

How does this play out? Men have a greater role in the halakhic process -- formulating, interpreting, and transmitting the laws that govern every aspect of life. Women, as far as I can tell, are traditionally seen as having a greater role in determining how and to what extent those laws are put into practice. There is a mushal about a righteous couple who had no children and decided to divorce and try their luck with new partners, so that at least one of them could enjoy children. The woman married a wicked man, and the man became righteous. The man married a wicked woman, and he became wicked. Along similar lines, the redemption from Egypt is attributed to the virtue of the women, who thus preserved the people, while the sins that led to the destruction of the first Beit Hamikdash are attributed to the luxury and frivolity of the women. The women's power in determining the spiritual environment of the home is also generally given as the basis for Judaism being passed on matrilineally, which gives them as much responsibility and agency as men in transmission, or rather more so. If men fail at their task, and the halakhic mesorah is lost, while women instill a proper spiritual and moral grounding, then we end up with a bunch of decent people who are not religious Jews. If men succeed, and women fail, we end up with a bunch of people with poor character who ignore this pristine tradition and aren't religious Jews anyway. There are innumerable passages in the rabbinic literature that plainly acknowledge that behind every great man, there is a great woman. The biblical narrative is replete with strong female role models.

On to current events:

Women as rabbis: The rabbinic role is multifaceted. As far as the role as judge is concerned, it is halakhically problematic for women. I think that that can be justified by the reasoning in the previous section; if women were given that formal, public power in the area of potential in addition to their informal, private in the area of actualization, society would become unbalanced. If that were countered by somehow granting men greater control in those areas, we would lose the benefits of complementarity. As far as the roles of pastor and teacher are concerned, women are filling them and have filled them since time immemorial. There are many observant women who are deeply learned and strong supports for their community, and that contribution is incredibly important and valuable. The professionalization of these roles among men is a surprisingly recent development, and while it may have been a necessary response to changing circumstances, I think that there has been a lot of loss as a result. There is great value in preserving what we can of a face-to-face society, where trust and respect are based on personal knowledge, reputation, and relationships rather than degrees and paid positions. Having already made such concessions to the forces of impersonal modernity for men, is it also necessary to do so for women? I don't know the answer. There are definitely reasons to do so, but I worry for what will be lost as a result.

Tzniut and the article in the New Republic: Tzniut is obligatory on both men and women, although the forms that it takes are different. Although it is often talked about in highly sexualized terms, weak men's uncontrollable lusts and all that, my understanding of it is that sexuality is only a small part of it. Rather, it teaches mindfulness of the fact that one's clothing and general demeanor form an expressive language in themselves. Just as we should be careful not to curse or scream or insult verbally, so we should be somewhat genteel in our dress and bearing. We should try to avoid extremes of gaudiness and conspicuous consumption, poor hygiene and maintenance, sexualization and objectification, cultural insensitivity, etc etc. What exactly that entails is socially contingent to a large degree, and things that seem insignificant to an outsider can convey a strong message in one group's "language". Verbally and physically attacking women is inexcusable and contrary to Jewish law, custom, and values. I know of no serious rabbinic opinion that would allow it, even in the Haredi world. True, public condemnation is lacking, but there are a number of possible explanations for that. Perhaps the rabbis worry that the behavior would continue regardless, and their authority would be undermined. Perhaps they don't want to expose internal communal conflict to wider scrutiny. Perhaps they simply do not care what people outside their community think of them, and thus see no reason to make an effort to mitigate the chillul Hashem. Perhaps they feel that making common cause with secular people, or even seeming to, would do harm to their community. I don't know.

Finally, no discussion of women in Judaism would be complete without reference to eshet chayil, the culmination of sefer mishlei read every week at Shabbat dinner: 
An accomplished woman, who can find? Her value is far beyond pearls.
Her husband's heart relies on her and he shall lack no fortune.
She does him good and not evil, all the days of her life.
She seeks wool and flax, and works with her hands willingly.
She is like the merchant ships, she brings her bread from afar.
She arises while it is still night, and gives food to her household and a portion to her maidservants.
She plans for a field, and buys it. With the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
She girds her loins in strength, and makes her arms strong.
She knows that her merchandise is good. Her candle does not go out at night.
She sets her hands to the distaff, and holds the spindle in her hands.
She extends her hands to the poor, and reaches out her hand to the needy.
She fears not for her household because of snow, because her whole household is warmly dressed.
She makes covers for herself, her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Her husband is known at the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land.
She makes a cloak and sells it, and she delivers aprons to the merchant.
Strength and honor are her clothing, she smiles at the future.
She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the lesson of kindness is on her tongue.
She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise and praise her, her husband lauds her.
Many women have done worthily, but you surpass them all.
Charm is deceptive and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears God shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.

This describes the ideal woman. It sounds like a lot of work, mostly in service to others. Then again, the ideal Jewish man also works hard, mostly in service to others. She is smart, resourceful, learned, eloquent, active, charitable, skillfully engaged in commerce and industry, and deeply appreciated by her family. The traditional women's sphere is not narrow and stifling, nor is it passive and unimportant. We ask women to be equal partners with men, not by doing what men do, but by complementing their contributions. To the extent that there is a sense of inequality or an undervaluation of the role of women, I think much of the blame should go to the excessive emphasis on shul, which falls more into the men's domain, at the expense of understanding Judaism as a comprehensive way of life. This mental restriction of religion to communal prayer services has numerous other perfidious effects.

That basically sums up my understanding and opinions on the subject. Hopefully I have not horribly misrepresented the traditional stance. Of course, it may be lovely in theory, but is it put into practice? Not always, and we always work to improve in many ways. Judaism is a challenging and difficult path. Still, there is a reason that Jewish families are stereo-typically matriarchal. Even where men are given the legal authority, they are strongly encouraged to defer to their wives on a wide range of matters, from Abraham regarding Hagar and Yishmael until the present day.

Shabbat Shalom!
-Ethan