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<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; tab-stops: .5in"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">In continuation of my previous post, I should note that
f</FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman">or 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 <I>kedushat Yisrael</I> (Jewish sanctity</FONT><A
name=_Ref120337932><FONT face="Times New Roman">),</FONT></A><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><I> </I>Jewish law, nevertheless, distinguishes between
the obligations of <I>kohanim</I> (priestly clan), <I>leviyim</I> (Levites) and
<I>yisraelim</I> (other Israelites), as well as between males and
females.</FONT><A name=_Ref120617108><FONT face="Times New Roman">
(</FONT></A><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="mso-bookmark: _Ref120617108"><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">See: R. Saul F. Berman,
“<SPAN style="COLOR: black">The Status of Women in Halakhic Judaism</SPAN>,” <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Tradition</I>, 14:2 (Fall 1973), pp.
5-29.</SPAN>)</SPAN> This lack of identity between the religious obligations of
men and women leads us to the inescapable conclusion that <B>Judaism is most
definitely <U>not egalitarian</U></B>. And <B><U>this</U></B> is the crux of the
problem!</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; tab-stops: .5in"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Women’s exemption from <I>mitsvot asei she-ha-zeman
gramma<A name=_Ref125157320>n</A></I><SPAN
style="mso-bookmark: _Ref125157320">─about which there is no dispute</SPAN> - is
derived in the Oral Law (<I><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">Kiddushin</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"> 34a</SPAN>) through the
use of the hermeneutical principles. Maimonides (<SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">Commentary to<I>
Mishna</I>, <I>Kiddushin </I>1:7</SPAN>) posits that this exemption is rooted in
ancient oral tradition. In either case this exemption is deemed to be
<U>biblical</U> in origin. The bottom line, then, is that halakhic Judaism
maintains that <B><U>God Himself ordained and commanded non-identical roles for
men and women</U></B>. 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.” (<SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">Judith Plaskow, “The Right
Question is Theological,” in Susannah Heschel, ed., <I>On Being a Jewish
Feminist: A Reader </I>(New York: Schocken, 1995), pp. 231-232; cited by Tamar
Ross, note <SPAN
style="mso-field-code: ' NOTEREF _Ref281763827 \h \* MERGEFORMAT '">8</SPAN>,
<I>supra</I>,<I> </I>p. 118</SPAN>)</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; tab-stops: .5in"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">For those whose highest commitment is to <I>halakha</I>,
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 “<I>she-lo asani isha</I>” and is the fundamental
reason that feminists have battled for a more egalitarian language – like
<I>she-asani yisrael</I> for males and <I>she-asani yisraelit</I> for females.
The latter communicates nothing about the different levels of <I>mitsva</I>
obligations of men and women–which is the whole purpose, content and intent of
the <I>berakha</I>, as is clear from the <I>Tosefta </I>and the
<EM>Yerushalmi</EM> 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.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; tab-stops: .5in"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; tab-stops: .5in"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">KT Aryeh</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; tab-stops: .5in"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal dir=ltr
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; TEXT-ALIGN: left"
align=left><FONT face=Arial
size=2>--------------------------------<BR>Prof. Aryeh A.
Frimer<BR>Chemistry Dept., Bar-Ilan University<BR>Ramat Gan 52900,
ISRAEL<BR>E-mail (office): </FONT><A href="mailto:Aryeh.Frimer@biu.ac.il"><FONT
face=Arial size=2>Aryeh.Frimer@biu.ac.il</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial size=2> or
</FONT><A href="mailto:FrimeA@biu.ac.il"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>FrimeA@biu.ac.il</FONT></A><BR><BR></P></DIV></BODY></HTML>