[Avodah] Schooling for women (was 12 steps)

[T613K at aol.com]

>>So, when did the Jewish nation take on the surrounding  non-Jewish 
influence that led to keeping women (mostly) ignorant? Why is it so  popular even 
today, when we know that this is not the idea behind "Ko Tomar  LeBeit 
Yisrael...."?<<


Shoshana L. Boublil
 
>>>>
Ko tomar lebeit Yakov, I think you meant to say.  (Don't worry, we all  slip 
sometimes.)
 
As for the beginning of that paragraph -- the Gemara itself says that women  
are not supposed to be taught Torah sheba'al peh.   
 
I think that anyone who says that that Gemara is not Torah miSinai --  but is 
only a response to the surrounding culture of its time -- has  herself been 
influenced by the "surrounding non-Jewish influence" of /our/  time.
 
There have been very learned woman, but in each case -- be it  Devorah or 
Bruriah -- she was very much an exception to the general run of  Jewish women.  
How many female shoftim have there been?  One.   How many female tannaim? One.  
(If Bruriah counts.)  

So while there does seem to be an allowance made for the exceptional  
circumstance, it is not the norm for women to be talmidei chachamim.    Their 
exemption from the mitzva of limud Torah (except for the specific halachos  they need 
to know) is, BTW, related to their exemption from other mitzvos that  would 
interfere with their higher duties -- raising the next generation of  Jews.




--Toby  Katz
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