[Avodah] shelo asani isha continued

[Esther and Aryeh Frimer]

In continuation of my previous post, I should note that for radical feminists, there is much more at stake in this benediction than just its formulation. Despite the fact, that all Jews share the same level of kedushat Yisrael (Jewish sanctity), Jewish law, nevertheless, distinguishes between the obligations of kohanim (priestly clan), leviyim (Levites) and yisraelim (other Israelites), as well as between males and females. (See: R. Saul F. Berman, “The Status of Women in Halakhic Judaism,” Tradition, 14:2 (Fall 1973), pp. 5-29.) This lack of identity between the religious obligations of men and women leads us to the inescapable conclusion that Judaism is most definitely not egalitarian. And this is the crux of the problem!

Women’s exemption from mitsvot asei she-ha-zeman gramman─about which there is no dispute - is derived in the Oral Law (Kiddushin 34a) through the use of the hermeneutical principles. Maimonides (Commentary to Mishna, Kiddushin 1:7) posits that this exemption is rooted in ancient oral tradition. In either case this exemption is deemed to be biblical in origin. The bottom line, then, is that halakhic Judaism maintains that God Himself ordained and commanded non-identical roles for men and women. This clearly does not sit well with many feminists. Indeed, Judith Plaskow believes that this is “a profound injustice of the Torah itself in discriminating between men and women.” (Judith Plaskow, “The Right Question is Theological,” in Susannah Heschel, ed., On Being a Jewish Feminist: A Reader (New York: Schocken, 1995), pp. 231-232; cited by Tamar Ross, note 8, supra, p. 118)

For those whose highest commitment is to halakha, this lack of identity in religious roles is a resounding rejection of certain basic feminist values. It suggests that the Torah’s set of priorities is not always consonant with those of modern day radical feminism. All this comes through loud and clear in “she-lo asani isha” and is the fundamental reason that feminists have battled for a more egalitarian language – like she-asani yisrael for males and she-asani yisraelit for females. The latter communicates nothing about the different levels of mitsva obligations of men and women–which is the whole purpose, content and intent of the berakha, as is clear from the Tosefta and the Yerushalmi cited in the previous post. Using a language for these bendictions that does not emphasize the difference in religious roles is, to my mind, not only contrary to the intent of Hazal and halakhically wrong, but also theologically incorrect and misleading.



KT    Aryeh



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Prof. Aryeh A. Frimer
Chemistry Dept., Bar-Ilan University
Ramat Gan 52900, ISRAEL
E-mail (office): Aryeh.Frimer at biu.ac.il or FrimeA at biu.ac.il


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