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Path: bloom-beacon.mit.edu!hookup!yeshua.marcam.com!MathWorks.Com!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!howland.reston.ans.net!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!news.aero.org!faigin From: faigin@aero.org (Daniel P. Faigin) Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish,news.answers,soc.answers Subject: soc.culture.jewish FAQ: Observance, Marriage, Women in Judaism (4/10) Supersedes: <faq.4_778615623@solarium.aero.org> Followup-To: poster Date: 3 Oct 1994 18:07:09 GMT Organization: The Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, CA Lines: 659 Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu Expires: 16 Nov 1994 18:07:05 GMT Message-ID: <faq.4_781207625@solarium.aero.org> NNTP-Posting-Host: solarium.aero.org Summary: Questions about Observance (Holidays, Kashrut, Shabbat) and Women Xref: bloom-beacon.mit.edu soc.culture.jewish:76478 news.answers:26760 soc.answers:1762 Archive-name: judaism/FAQ/04-Observance Posting-Frequency: Monthly Frequently Asked Questions on Soc.Culture.Jewish Part 4: Observance, Marriage, Women in Judaism [Last Change: $Date: 1994/10/03 18:07:06 $ $Revision: 1.15 $] [Last Post: Sat Sep 3 11:07:04 1994] This posting is an attempt to answer questions that are continually asked on soc.culture.jewish. It was written by cooperating laypeople from the various Judaic movements. You SHOULD NOT make any assumption as to accuracy and/or authoritativeness of the answers provided herein. In all cases, it is always best to consult a competent authority -- your local rabbi is a good place to start. The deceased sages described within are of blessed memory, (assume a Z"L or ZT"L after their names) and the sages alive today should live to see long and good days (assume SHLITA). May Hashem grant complete recovery to the ill. Individual honorifics are omitted. The FAQ was produced by a committee and is a cooperative work. The contributors never standardized on a {Hebrew,Aramaic,Yiddish,Ladino}-->English transliteration scheme. As a result, the same original word might appear with a variety of spellings. This is complicated by the fact that there are regional variations in the pronunciation of Hebrew. In some places, the common spelling variations are mentioned; in others --- not. We hope that this is not too confusing. This list should be used in conjunction with the Soc.Culture.Jewish reading lists that are posted separately. Similar questions can be found in the books referenced in those lists. Reproduction of this posting for commercial use is subject to restriction. See Part 1 for more details. ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: Organization This portion of the FAQ contains answers to the following questions: Section 5. Jewish Holidays 5.1 What are the different holidays 5.2. What are the dates of the upcoming Jewish holidays? 5.3. How can I get a Jewish calendar 5.4. Why do some people take off one day, and others two? 5.5. Why does the Jewish day start at sundown? Section 6. Jewish Dietary Law and Kashrut 6.1. What is Kosher? Doesn't a rabbi just bless the food 6.2. Do I need to have a kosher kitchen and kosher home to keep kosher? 6.3. Why do different groups wait different times? 6.4. Why are there different customs on Pesach (i.e., Kitniyos)? 6.5. I'm a vegetarian health-food proponent. Is kosher food healthier? 6.6. Is vegetarianism kosher? Section 7. Sabbath and Holiday Observance 7.1. What is the Jewish Sabbath and why is it on Saturday? 7.2. Why do my Orthodox Jewish friends leave work early on Fridays Section 8. Woman and Marriage 8.1. What role do women play in Judaism? 8.2. What is the Conservative view of the role of women in Judaism? 8.3. What is the Reform view of the role of women in Judaism? 8.4. What is the Orthodox view of the role of women in Judaism? 8.5. I've heard the Orthodox men are grateful for not being women... 8.6. What about polygamy? 8.7. What does clean/unclean refer to? All portions of the FAQ are organized as digests, and should be undigestifyable by software such as Gnus or rn. Please report any difficulties. ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: Archival and Credits Anonymous FTP: All portions of the FAQ and of the reading lists are archived on israel.nysernet.org [192.77.173.2] and on rtfm.mit.edu, and are available for anonymous FTP. The locations of parts of the FAQ on israel.nysernet.org are as follows: ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/FAQ/01-FAQ-intro ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/FAQ/02-Who-We-Are ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/FAQ/03-Torah-Halacha ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/FAQ/04-Observance ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/FAQ/05-Worship ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/FAQ/06-Jewish-Thought ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/FAQ/07-Jews-As-Nation ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/FAQ/08-Israel ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/FAQ/09-Antisemitism ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/FAQ/10-Miscellaneous The locations of the parts of the reading lists on israel.nysernet.org are as follows: ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/reading-lists/general ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/reading-lists/traditional ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/reading-lists/chasidism ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/reading-lists/reform ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/reading-lists/conservative ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/reading-lists/reconstructionist ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/reading-lists/humanistic ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/reading-lists/zionism ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/reading-lists/antisemitism ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/reading-lists/intermarriage ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/reading-lists/periodicals If you are accessing the archives on rtfm.mit.edu, the pathname is pub/usenet/news.answers/judaism, instead of israel/lists/scj-faq. Mail: The files may also be obtained via Email by sending a message to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with the following line in the body of the message: send usenet/news.answers/judaism/(portionname) Where (portionname) is replaced by the appropriate subdirectory and filenames; for example, to get the first part of the reading list, one would say: send usenet/news.answers/judaism/reading-lists/general WWW/Mosaic: The FAQ and reading lists are available by following the following pointer: http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/bngusenet/soc/culture/jewish/top.htm Comments and corrections are welcome. Note that the goal is to present a balanced view of Judaism; where a response is applicable to a particular movement only, this will be noted. Unless otherwise noted or implied by the text, all responses reflect the traditional viewpoint. ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: 5.1 What are the different holidays See the list below. R' Donin's book _To Be a Jew_ gives a good overview of the holidays from a traditional perspective. Note that liberal Jews do not observe all of these holidays, nor do they all follow the practice of two-days of observance of certain holidays in the diaspora. The principle year-cycle events observed by liberal Jews are: Shabbat, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Chanukkah, Tu B'Shevat, Purim, Pesach (Passover), Lag B'Omer, Shavuot, and Tish'a B'Av. Yom Hashoah, Yom HaAtzma'ut, and Yom Yerushalayim commemorate Churban Europa (lit: the Holocaust of Europe), Israel's Independence, and the liberation of Jerusalem, respectively. Many liberal Jews observe them (and create new liturgies for them). Traditional Jews vary in the observance of these days. Some observe them. Some prefer to commemorate Churban Europa on Tisha B'Av along with the other catastrophes which have befallen the Jewish people. Some celebrate the Israel-related days, but don't assign them religious significance, and others ignore all three. ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: 5.2. What are the dates of the upcoming Jewish holidays? [The following is courtesy of the Hebcal program, mentioned in 5.3] 3/27/1994 Pesach I 3/28/1994 Pesach II 4/ 8/1994 Yom HaShoah 4/11/1994 Rosh Chodesh Iyyar 4/12/1994 Rosh Chodesh Iyyar 4/13/1994 Yom HaZikaron 4/14/1994 Yom Ha'atzmaut 4/29/1994 Lag B'Omer 5/ 9/1994 Yom Yerushalayim 5/11/1994 Rosh Chodesh Sivan 5/16/1994 Shavuot I 5/17/1994 Shavuot II 6/ 9/1994 Rosh Chodesh Tamuz 6/10/1994 Rosh Chodesh Tamuz 6/26/1994 Shiva Assar B'Tamuz 7/ 9/1994 Rosh Chodesh Av 7/17/1994 Tish'a B'Av 8/ 7/1994 Rosh Chodesh Elul 8/ 8/1994 Rosh Chodesh Elul 9/ 5/1994 Erev Rosh Hashana 9/ 6/1994 Rosh Hashana I 9/ 7/1994 Rosh Hashana II 9/ 8/1994 Tzom Gedalia 9/14/1994 Erev Yom Kippur 9/15/1994 Yom Kippur 9/20/1994 Sukkot I 9/21/1994 Sukkot II 9/26/1994 Sukkot VII (Hoshana Raba) 9/27/1994 Shmini Atzeret 9/28/1994 Simchat Torah 10/ 5/1994 Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan 10/ 6/1994 Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan 11/ 4/1994 Rosh Chodesh Kislev 11/28/1994 Chanukah I 11/29/1994 Chanukah II 12/ 3/1994 Rosh Chodesh Tevet 12/ 4/1994 Rosh Chodesh Tevet 12/ 5/1994 Chanukah VIII 12/13/1994 Asara B'Tevet 1/ 2/1995 Rosh Chodesh Shvat 1/16/1995 Tu B'Shvat 1/31/1995 Rosh Chodesh Adar I 2/ 1/1995 Rosh Chodesh Adar I 2/15/1995 Purim katan 3/ 2/1995 Rosh Chodesh Adar II 3/14/1995 Ta'anit Esther 3/15/1995 Purim 3/16/1995 Shushan Purim 3/31/1995 Rosh Chodesh Nisan 4/ 1/1995 Rosh Chodesh Nisan 4/14/1995 Erev Pesach - Taanit B'chorot 4/15/1995 Pesach I 4/16/1995 Pesach II 4/21/1995 Pesach VII 4/22/1995 Pesach VIII 4/27/1995 Yom HaShoah 4/30/1995 Rosh Chodesh Iyyar 5/ 1/1995 Rosh Chodesh Iyyar 5/ 3/1995 Yom HaZikaron 5/ 4/1995 Yom Ha'atzmaut 5/18/1995 Lag B'Omer 5/28/1995 Yom Yerushalayim 5/30/1995 Rosh Chodesh Sivan 6/ 4/1995 Shavuot I 6/ 5/1995 Shavuot II 6/28/1995 Rosh Chodesh Tamuz 6/29/1995 Rosh Chodesh Tamuz 7/16/1995 Shiva Assar B'Tamuz [nidche] 7/28/1995 Rosh Chodesh Av 8/ 6/1995 Tish'a B'Av [nidche] 8/26/1995 Rosh Chodesh Elul 8/27/1995 Rosh Chodesh Elul 9/24/1995 Erev Rosh Hashana 9/25/1995 Rosh Hashana I 9/26/1995 Rosh Hashana II 9/27/1995 Tzom Gedalia 10/ 3/1995 Erev Yom Kippur 10/ 4/1995 Yom Kippur 10/ 9/1995 Sukkot I 10/10/1995 Sukkot II 10/15/1995 Sukkot VII (Hoshana Raba) 10/16/1995 Shmini Atzeret 10/17/1995 Simchat Torah 10/24/1995 Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan 10/25/1995 Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan 11/23/1995 Rosh Chodesh Kislev 11/24/1995 Rosh Chodesh Kislev 12/18/1995 Chanukah I 12/19/1995 Chanukah II 12/23/1995 Rosh Chodesh Tevet 12/24/1995 Rosh Chodesh Tevet 12/25/1995 Chanukah VIII Since the Jewish day starts at sunset, all of these holidays start at sunset on the civil date before. (See Subject 7.2 for details.) ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: 5.3. How can I get a Jewish calendar? Chabad-Lubavitch and other organizations publish calendars which include sunset times for various cities. Jewish funeral homes often distribute Jewish calendars to local synagogues around Rosh Hashana. Jewish bookstores and gift shops sell them as well. Also, Danny Sadinoff's program hebcal is an invaluable resource. It's available by anonymous FTP from israel.nysernet.org, in ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/computers/software/calendar/hebcal2-1.Z ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: 5.4. Why do some people take off one day, and others two? QUESTION: Why do some people take off one day & some two days for certain holidays? ANSWER: The Jewish calendar is based on a lunar system in which each month begins at the new moon. A month can consist of 29 or 30 days. Originally the determination of the new moon was by the Sanhedrin (highest rabbinic court, 70 members) when witnesses declared that they had seen the new moon. Once the Sanhedrin declared the new month, messages were sent to the various communities stating which day (of the two possible) began the new month. Note that this does not say that the Sanhedrin did not know the methods of calculating the new moon, but merely that proper procedure required the witnesses. The astronomical calculations could be used to verify the validity of the witnesses, if necessary. In those months in which holidays occurred, (such as Nisan for Pesach), the exact date was critical for determining when the holiday began. Since the messengers could not reach every community in the time allotted, those communities they could not reach would celebrate both possible days. In 325 CE, the Byzantine (Eastern Roman Empire) administration in what was then Palestine limited the rights of the Sanhedrin to disseminate calendrical information. Hillel II, the Sanhedrin President at the time, published a set of rules for the maintenance of the calendar, which is still used today. The Sanhedrin also determined that those communities outside of Eretz Yisrael would continue to keep the second day of the holiday because of a principal "Minhag Avoseinu Beyadeinu", the customs of our fathers [remain] in our hands, and to remember the law for when the Sanhedrin is reestablished and the month is determined by witnesses again. Reform Jews believe that since the calendar is defined exactly, there is no longer a need to keep the second day of Yom Tov outside of Eretz Yisrael. However some Reform Jews do choose to observe two days. Many Orthodox Jews feel that once the Sanhedrin is reestablished, that the declaration will be disseminated by CNN [Cable News Network] or maybe even soc.culture.jewish, and even the Jews outside of Eretz Yisrael will only be required to keep one day. However, until that time comes, the requirement is to maintain the calendar as established by the original Sanhedrin which includes two days. ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: 5.5. Why does the Jewish day start at sundown? Because this is how the Torah describes days, starting in the book of Genesis: "And there was evening, and there was morning, one day." (Gen. 1:5). As another example, the Torah refers to Yom Kippur explicitly as "from evening to the next evening". ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: 6.1. What is Kosher? Doesn't a rabbi just bless the food Kosher ("fit") food must meet the complex requirements of Jewish law, and the supervising rabbi verifies that such is the case for a given food item, or item which will come in contact with food. There are restrictions on which foods are permitted during different times of the year, and a procedure for slaughtering permissible animals with minimal pain to the animal. The rabbi's role is to decide questions of Jewish law. In the area of kashrus, there are hundreds of details that must be met, and thousands of "oops, now what?" questions that must be answered. Animals, for example, are killed in a very precise manner, by a "shochet", and they must be checked internally for disease, have their blood removed by salting, feathers removed in cold water, and so on. Kosher wine may not come into gentile contact before pasteurization. Because meat and dairy have to be carefully separated, precautions against milk-based additives have to taken. The complications can be immense. A rabbi will hire a mashgioch to do the actual supervision. The latter is supposed to call in the rabbi when a novel situation comes up. Note that the Reform movement does not mandate observance of the laws of Kashrut. Instead, it advises its members to study the laws of Kashrut and to follow those that the individual feels increases the sanctity of their life and their relationship to G-d. As a result, there are some Reform Jews who do keep kosher. Also, many Jews keep some aspect of the kosher laws, such as not eating pork or shellfish. Rabbis (and others) sometimes recommend avoiding certain food products based on concerns other than kashruth, for example: * Environmental (e.g. its manufacture harms the environment more than necessary), * Religious (e.g. a Jewish-owned bakery selling kosher food, but open on the Sabbath) * 'Tikun olam' [repairing the world] (e.g. the manufacturer complies with the Arab boycott of Israel, or mistreats its employees) Some rabbis choose not to supervise certain products based on considerations of the above sort. ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: 6.2. Do I need to have a kosher kitchen and kosher home to keep kosher? No, all you have to do is avoid non-kosher food. Preparing kosher food in a non-kosher kitchen is possible (this arises when visiting or living with relatives who don't keep kosher) but it is much more difficult than preparing kosher food in a kosher kitchen. The practice of keeping kosher in the home, but eating non-kosher food outside the home is certainly better than eating non-kosher food *all* the time, but the kosher laws deal with *what* to eat, not where to eat it. ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: 6.3. Why do different groups wait different times? QUESTION: I have heard that Polish Orthodox Jews wait 6 hours between eating milchig and fleishig and Dutch Orthodox Jews wait about an hour. Why? ANSWER: Both agree that there must be a delay, it's just that the different communities came to different conclusions about the length. It's a matter of custom. ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: 6.4. Why are there different customs on Pesach (i.e., Kitniyos)? QUESTION: Why do Sephardim and Ashkenazim have different customs regarding permissible foods on Pesach (Passover)? ANSWER: Both agree that "Chometz" products are forbidden. Ashkenazi authorities additionally forbade "kitniyos" [some legumes], a class of foods in some ways similar to chometz, but not classified as "chometz." Sephardic authorities didn't consider this stringency to be necessary. ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: 6.5. I'm a vegetarian health-food proponent. Is kosher food healthier? We don't know. Traditional Jews keep kosher because G-d demands it of us. However, we wouldn't be at all surprised if something which G-d demands would also be good for us. Note that vegetarian food is not always kosher: there are problems with cheese, vinegar, oils, grape jelly, insects, gentile cooking, and lots more. (No, we don't mean vegetarians eat insects. But strict kashrus requires careful inspection for insects.) Side note for meat eaters: kosher meat is healthier. USDA standards are disgustingly lenient regarding the animal's health. "Sixty Minutes" once did an expose on this--many kosher butchers reported a large increase in gentile customers. Cold-water plucking helps prevent the spread of salmonella bacteria, and meat from diseased animals cannot be considered kosher. Kosher slaughter is more humane than non-kosher slaughter, as it kills the animal in a painless fashion. Although kosher slaughter does not kill the animal instantly, the animal passes out from the sudden drop in cranial blood pressure and dies in a minute or so. There is no pain. Some Jews boycott particular foods or manufacturers as a political or human rights gesture. However, even if a rabbi declares a food prohibited in his community, although it is equally as forbidden as non-kosher food, this does not affect its kosher status. (For example, utensils coming in contact with morally-forbidden products do not become non-kosher.) ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: 6.6. Is vegetarianism kosher? In principle, vegetarianism is compatible with Judaism. In fact, there are those who find reasons within Jewish thought supporting vegetarianism. However, Judaism categorically rejects the radical animal rights position that animals have the same rights as people. It should also be kept in mind that, in traditional circles at least, vegetarianism may be considered somewhat "strange". According to most halachic authorities, when the Temple is rebuilt, all Jewish men will be obligated to partake of the paschal lamb with their families. Nothing short of a severe lamb allergy permits abstaining from this sacrificial meal. There are various positions on this issue, which have been written about in Kashrus magazine and on the net. Consult your local rabbi for details. ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: 7.1. What is the Jewish Sabbath and why is it on Saturday? The Sabbath/Shabbat/Shabbos/Shabbath is the seventh day of the week. It begins around sunset Friday night and ends around nightfall Saturday night. In some Western languages the word for "Saturday" means "The Sabbath", such as "el Sa'bado" in Spanish. The Sabbath commemorates G-d's refraining from continuing creation on account of the world being "complete." We emulate this by refraining from various categories of "creative work," such as starting a fire, building items, and ploughing fields, and lots of smaller-scale activities related to these. However, Sabbath meals are festive and song-filled, Torah learning is encouraged, and married couples are encouraged to reconsummate their union. The idea is to refrain from weekday activity in order to devote the day to sacred matters. The laws of Shabbat are *extremely* complicated, and the various movements differ considerably concerning which activities are permissible and which activities are encouraged. A popular thumbnail sketch is _The Sabbath_ by Dayan I. Grunfeld. The Jewish Sabbath is on Saturday because of the passage in Torah (Bereishis [Genesis] 2:1-3) that describes how G-d rested on the seventh day and how we are commanded to similarly rest (see Sh'mot [Exodus] 16:28-30, 23:12, 31:12-17, and others). ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: 7.2. Why do my Orthodox Jewish friends leave work early on Fridays and before Jewish holidays? First, all Sabbath-observant and holiday-observant Jews do this, not just Orthodox. The Jewish "day" begins at sunset and continues to the following sunset. Thus Shabbos observance begins before sunset on Friday. (generally 18 minutes, sometimes more depending upon local custom) Since activities such as cooking, driving a car, etc. are forbidden on the Shabbos, one must arrive home and finish the preparations (including showering, changing clothes) sufficiently early to light the candles and go to shul before sunset. In the winter sunset comes early, so Shabbos observers have to leave work early. They arrange with their management to make up the time by working extra hours other days or by coming in early on Friday to make up for leaving early. ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: 8.1. What role do women play in Judaism? The basic answer is that everything that G-d created serves a unique and vital role in fulfilling G-d's goals for this world/universe. In particular, humanity (man and woman, gentile and jew) is both the pinnacle and purpose for the creation in the first place. The details of how/if women's roles differ from men's in achieving these goals in the various Jewish movements is discussed below. ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: 8.2. What is the Conservative view of the role of women in Judaism? The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, has considered and approved a number of responsa which deal with the role of women in Jewish law. A quick summary is that women are accorded the same rights and privileges as men in most areas of Jewish ritual and practice. A congregational rabbi may or may not decide to adopt particular rulings for the congregation. So some Conservative congregations will be more or less egalitarian than others, in areas such as women: - Publicly reading the Torah - Serving as cantor - Being part of the minyan - Serving as rabbi - Being called to the Torah - Serving as the representative - Sitting together with men of the congregation There are other areas where differences remain between men and women, including: - Matrilineal descent -- the child of a Jewish mother is born Jewish; the child of a Jewish father is born Jewish if and only if the mother is Jewish. - Women do not serve as legal witnesses in those cases where Jewish law requires two witnesses. (However, some Conservative rabbis accept conversions performed under Reform auspices.) ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: 8.3. What is the Reform view of the role of women in Judaism? Reform believes in the equality of men and women, and, where necessary, has introduced alternative mitzvot and rituals to address religious needs in this fashion. Reform allows women to be both rabbis and cantors, counts them as part of the minyon (quorum for public prayer), allows women to initiate a divorce, and provides a berit-equivalent ceremony for girls (no medical procedure is done, however). ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: 8.4. What is the Orthodox view of the role of women in Judaism? Traditional Judaism views men and women as having complementary roles in life, with the women being spiritually superior. As a consequence of the different roles, men and women have different obligations (positive ways of fulfilling the will of our Creator). Jewish men, for example, have an obligation to pray at three fixed times each day. Men need this structure to come closer to G-d. Jewish women on the other hand, don't need this obligation because they start off on a higher level. It is noteworthy that a woman is considered complete in Jewish Law, but a man needs a wife to achieve that status. In fact, a man cannot fulfill his obligations as Jew without the help of a woman. ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: 8.5. I've heard the Orthodox men are grateful for not being women... QUESTION: Is it true that Orthodox men bless G-d every morning for not making them a woman? What do you mean, this isn't terrible? ANSWER: The answer is yes, we do. Sit down. There's a reason for everything... Among the morning blessings are three that go "Blessed art You, L-rd our G-d, King of the Universe, who has not made me a ...", where "..." is "gentile","slave","woman", in that order. This upsets you? Some of us have a very hard time comprehending why anyone would react. Men are men, women are women, and if the men happen to be glad that they are not women, what of it? Oh, to you this is derogatory? What makes you think any mention of differences between men and women is secret code for "men good, women bad"? It just isn't so, and 2000 years of language/culture/social change have given never-intended meanings to innumerable phrases. The above misreading of the blessing is one such. Go back to the original reference in the Talmud (Berachos 60b). The sequence of three "who has not made me a" blessings was originally proposed by one rabbi as gentile/idiot/woman. The other rabbis could not comprehend this. It made no sense. And then it was noticed that if "idiot" was replaced with "slave", the three blessings fit into a neat logical pattern, with the blessings carrying a progression of greater yoke of commandments. It is for the chance to do more mitzvos than gentiles/slaves/women that Orthodox men bless G-d every morning. Note that if derogatory intent were meant, nothing would have prevented it from being expressed. And no one would have changed "idiot". Rabbi Aharon Soloveichik, one of Orthodox Judaism's foremost halachic authorities, addresses this question in his book _Logic of the Heart, Logic of the Mind_. His key points are: 1. Whatever is superior was created later. In the human species, the female gender was created later, showing that women have innate spiritual advantages as compared with men. The question then becomes: what is the nature of those advantages? 2. The gifts that G-d gave to humanity are two: "One blessing is the gift of conquest, of power and of grasping (in Hebrew: "kibbush"). The other is the gift of cultivation, of work and dedication and of reaching unto things and people through love, consideration, and guidance ("chazakah"). We can attain great heights through kibbush, but we can't succeed in establishing a Paradise on earth unless we couple it with chazakah. The gift of kibbush was bestowed upon men, and to be exercised by the males of the eleven tribes excluding Levi. The mandate of the woman is that of chazakah. 3. He goes on to describe why women are exempted from obligatory mitzvos created by a time element, from Torah study, and the meaning of the morning blessing. G-d imposed more mitzvos upon men to limit their natural predisposition towards excessive and abusive kibbush. If not tempered, this abundance of male energy can be destructive. Women don't need such restrictions. As per the brachah (blessing) that they recite: "She'asani kirtzono -- Who has made me according to His will." Women's innate qualities as the last created creature (Rabbi Soloveichik words this as "the crown of Creation"), are already aimed at the fulfillment of G-d's ultimate desire for mankind. What is that desire? In the time of the Messiah, there will be no pursuit of kibbush, rather everyone will pursue the gift of chazakah. So women's Divine endowment and her mandate to be true to that endowment is consonant with humanity's spiritual and moral goals in the Messianic Era. ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: 8.6. What about polygamy? QUESTION: I've heard polygamy is permissible among Sephardic and Yemenite Jews. Doesn't Judaism mandate monogamy? ANSWER: Polygamy is permitted among non-Ashkenazi Jews, and among Ashkenazi Jews who obtain special permission of 100 rabbis (as in the case of (G-d forbid) a wife who becomes incapacitated). But this is largely an academic question, since most Jews live in countries which ban polygamy by civil law. Furthermore, the Sephardic community in Israel has its own ban on performing polygamous marriages in Israel. ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: 8.7. What does clean/unclean refer to? The Hebrew words are "tahor" and "tameh". Translating them as "clean" and "unclean" (or "pure" and "impure") is always erroneous. Tahor is a state of spiritual fitness and life, while tumah connotes the opposite. Touching a corpse, or even touching something that has touched a corpse brings one a high level of tumah. Another source of tumah is a niddah, a woman who has had a menstrual flow, indicating the loss of a potential life. Another way of looking at it is: Tahara is a carefully-defined state where one CAN perform sacrifices at the Temple and tumah is a state where that is NOT permitted. Pretty much as simple as that. ------------------------------------------------------------ -- Please mail additions or corrections to me at faigin@aero.org. End of SCJ FAQ Part 4 (Observance and Women) Digest ************************** ------- -- [W]: The Aerospace Corp. M1/055 * POB 92957 * LA, CA 90009-2957 * 310/336-8228 [Email]:faigin@aero.org, faigin@acm.org [Vmail]:310/336-5454 Box#68228 Seen on the net: "Earthquakes aren't fascinating when they are under your house"