[Avodah] Rav Shimon Schwab on Women Learning Torah
via Avodah
avodah at lists.aishdas.org
Fri Feb 5 07:26:41 PST 2016
From: Ben Waxman via Avodah <avodah at lists.aishdas.org>
>> Just to point out something that may be obvious: By saying that a women
can obtain prophecy without learning Torah, RSS is also inferring that a
man requires Talmud Torah to obtain prophecy. In that regard, RSS is
agreeing with the Rambam and my original question then returns: why the
differentiation? <<
Ben
>>>>
Sorry I don't remember sources and have no time now to look things up but I
have seen in many places the idea that what men gain from learning Torah
lishma, women gain from being careful about tznius. I've seen it said in
regard to schar in olam haba as well as acquiring yiras Shamayim but I
suppose it would cover nevuah too.
One place I saw this recently was in the book Halichos Bas Yisrael by R'
Yitzchak Yaacov Fuchs. BTW he has an excellent chapter complete with many
footnotes on the whole subject of women learning Torah. For anyone who
really cares about this issue it would be very kedai to read it.
This does not answer RBW's question, "why the differentiation?" which I
can't do al regel achas but again, R' Fuchs' book does go into that question
at some length. I don't know if RBW's question is merely rhetorical and
means to imply that he doesn't believe that men and women are profoundly
different. But whether it's a rhetorical question or an honest request for
information, whole books have been written on that subject!
We have on this list at least three women who are talmidei chachamim (no I
am emphatically not including myself -- I have never learned Gemara!).
They are very admirable and wise, but it is a fact that despite such
exceptions to the rule, the rule still is that learning Torah Shebe'al Peh in depth
does little or nothing for the vast majority of women from a spiritual
point of view. I heard this from my father, who said something similar to what
R' Schwab has been quoted as saying. I will add that my father offered to
teach me Gemara (I declined) so obviously he did not consider it to be 100%
assur but it would have to be on a case by case basis.
--Toby Katz
t613k at aol.com
..
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