[Avodah] "All Men and Women are Created Equal in the Eyes of the Almighty"

[T613K at aol.com]

On Sun, Jul 05, 2009, Cantor Wolberg wrote:
:       When the daughters of Tzelafchad heard that the land  was  
: being divided by tribes and that daughters were not included,  they  
: gathered together to take counsel, and they said: "Not as the  mercies  
: of flesh and blood are those of the Holy One Blessed be He.  The  
: mercies of flesh and blood are greater for males than for  females, but  
: the mercies of the Holy One Blessed be He are  (equivalent) for all, as  
: it is written (Psalms 145:9): And His  mercies are over all His  
: works" (Sifrei)...

RMB asked:   >>Can someone explain this Sifrei in light of the general 
ethic of  "women
and children first" (eg the lifeboats on the  Titanic)?<<

 
>>>>
 
Despite a few western countries in recent centuries having a notion of  
chivalry, most cultures for most of history favored men in Titanic-type  
situations and would give precedence to a man's life over a woman's life.   It's 
my impression that this is still true today in Arab, African and Asian  
societies, except where western influence has changed the old cultures.   And 
actually /even/ in western societies the notion of "woman and children  first" 
has been thrown overboard (so to speak) in recent decades for the  
paradoxical reason that feminists object to any distinction being made between  men 
and women.  One woman too many took umbrage at having a door held open  for 
her, and "women and children first" went into the dustbin of history.   Sorry 
for the mixed metaphors.
 
 
 

--Toby  Katz
==========



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