Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Maharal: Drush Al HaTorah, translation

 

Maharal: Drush Al HaTorah, p. 27 in standard edition, chapter 16:1-2 on Sefaria.

 

Again it says, "Thus shall you say, etc." (Exodus 19:3), to the women in the language of speaking, and to the men in the language of the telling. Perhaps the women will say “we have no reward for learning the Torah,” since they don’t learn it [themselves]. So how will they have a share in the reward? Because of this they might prevent their husbands from accepting it, when they [the women] have no benefit from it. That's why it says, "Thus you will say, etc.", to the women in soft language. The verse is saying that their reward is very big, more than that of the men, and that is why the women are spoken to first. And so in the chapter “He would read” (Berachot 17.) [it says] God made a greater promise to women than to men, as it is said (Isaiah Lev, 9) "Women who are tranquil" Rabbi Haya said, how do women merit, by taken their sons to the study hall and waiting for their husbands to return from the rabbis.

 

Let us explain. There is to ask, why is this great promise made to women? And if the reward of women is great for helping their sons and husbands with Torah [study], the reward of the people who study it should be even greater. There is to understand what the scripture means when it refers to "tranquil women." The man, since he is strong, is not tranquil and quiet. He is active. Therefore, he is not prepared for tranquility and rest, which is the [attribute of ] the next world, since it is the essence of rest. However, women are fit for this, since by nature they are not so active. Therefore greater is the promise that the Holy One Blessed Be He [made to them] over the men as they are not so tranquil and prepared for it [this rest]. This is more relevant to women. And with the help that they give, their reward is very great as they are already prepared for the tranquility [of the next world]. However, the men need to toil in Torah without rest night and day. “And He told the sons of Israel,” this with words of harshness, for [the man’s] task is toil. The women were spoken to in softer language because they don’t need it so much. Even so, their reward is greater, and so they were spoken to in softer language.

 

שוב אמר "כה תאמר וגו'" (שמות יט, ג), לנשים בלשון אמירה, ולאנשים בלשון הגדה. להורות כי באולי יאמרו הנשים אין לנו שכר בלמוד התורה, בשאינם לומדות אותה, ואיך יהיה להם חלק בשכרה, ועל ידי כך אולי ימנעו את בעליהם מלקבלה, כאשר אין להם תועלת בזה. לכך אמר "כה תאמר וגו'", לנשים בלשון רכה, רצה לומר אדרבה, ששכרם הרבה מאוד, יותר משל אנשים, ולכך מקדים הנשים תחלה. וכדאיתא בפרק היה קורא* (ברכות יז.), גדולה הבטחה שהבטיחן הקב"ה לנשים יותר מן האנשים, שנאמר (ישעיה לב, ט) "נשים שאננות וגו'". אמר ליה רב לרבי חייא, נשים במה זכיין. באקרויי בנייהו לבי כנשתא, ובאתנויי גברייהו לבי רבנן, ונטרן לגברייהו עד דאתי מבי רבנן, עד כאן.

 

הנה מבואר נגלה כי יש לשאול, למה ועל מה גדולה ההבטחה שהבטיח לנשים. ואם שכר הנשים גדול בשביל שמסייעים לבניהם ולבעליהם לתורה, כל שכן היה ראוי להיות יותר גדול שכר אנשים הלומדים אותה. אמנם יש לך להבין זה ממה שאמר הכתוב שהביא "נשים שאננות", כי האיש במה שהוא גבר, איננו בעל שאנן והשקט, מצד התגברותו והתפעלו. בכן אינם מוכנים גם כן כל כך אל השאנן והמנוחה, הוא העולם הבא, שהוא המנוחה בעצמו. אבל הנשים ראויים ומוכנים לה מצד עצמם, שאינם בני פעולה והתעוררות מצד עצם בריאתן. לפיכך "גדולה הבטחה* שהבטיחן הקב"ה יותר מן האנשים", מצד השאנן ושלוה אשר המה מוכנים לו, כי זהו חלק הנשים, וראויות לזה ביותר. ובמעט הסיוע שמסייעים לתורה שכרם גדול מאד, באשר* כבר הם מוכנים אל השאנן, וכל המוכן לדבר מה, בנקל ישיגנו* מצד תכונתו. אבל האנשים צריכים מצד זה שיהיו עמלים וטורחים בתורה מבלי מנוח לילה ויום. וזהו (-גופו-) [גופא] "ותגיד לבני ישראל" דברים הקשין כגידין, הוא העמל הגדול הזה. אמנם לנשים בלשון רכה, כי אינם צריכים כל כך. ואף על פי כן הם ראויים לשכר יותר גדול, עד שלזה גם כן הקדימן הכתוב לאנשים, כאמור.

 

Comments:

We see here that the Maharal discusses only Torah study, not mitzvos. Numerous people, including most famously Rabbi Moshe Meiselman in his book Jewish Women in Jewish Law, mistakenly use this passage from the Maharal to explain why women are exempt from positive time-bound commandments. However, the Maharal discusses that subject in Tiferes Yisroel 4 and Chidushei Agados Makos 23b where he says essentially that women are exempt from those mitzvos because women are less spiritual than men.  What the Maharal says here is that Olam Haba is a place of receiving reward and a person has to be fit to receive his reward. Women are receivers, hence the word נְקֵבָה from לקבל – to receive. They take the chochmah of the male and build it out using binah. They take the seed of the male, and build a baby. They take the grain from the male and turn it into bread. As receivers, they are better prepared for the receiving of reward in the next world. Men are aggressive. One aspect of Torah study is to channel that aggression, to soften the male so he is fit to be more of a receiver. Are we going to say that this is the only purpose of Torah study? It’s one aspect of it. He “needs” Torah study to tame him. Does that need signify that he is inferior to the woman? Rabbi Meiselman wrote that according to the Maharal women are better suited for spiritual growth. This suggests that energy and activity are not needed for spiritual growth, but that sounds like Zen Buddhism to me. Judaism says we live in a world of action. By doing mitzvos, by studying, by praying we grow. We don’t grow magically by passively channeling the universe, or some such thing. A man’s energy and activity are tools for spiritual growth. Only, there’s a down side to it, which is that for receiving reward in the next world, we have to be receptacles too. In that sense, the man “needs” Torah study.

Sunday, December 3, 2023

masculine-style activities

 If I may offer a thought that is entirely my own (as far as I know), the positive-time bound commandments are masculine-style activities. Sitting outdoors in the crisp autumn in a small hut that he rapidly built with his hands is the kind of thing a man is more inclined to do. Most women prefer to be in the house, near the kitchen, where children have room to play. The same applies to wearing simple black boxes -- every single day the same style. Few women want to wear the same plain article every day. The same can be said of adhering to the regimentation of saying Shema at a specific time, every morning, no exceptions for morning sickness. The same goes for making an intentionally jolting sound with a dead Ram’s horn and waving around a lulav as if it were a sword. The positive time-bound commandments from which women are not exempt don’t have this quality. Examples include kiddush, which is said at the dinner table over wine, and eating matzah, again at the dinner table. This may not be a profound philosophical idea, but it seems to fit somewhat. Even if the generalizations are offensive to some (but mostly not to people in the Orthodox Jewish world), you have to admit, there’s truth to it.

Friday, November 3, 2023

fulfill all 613 commandments

 However, it is well known that R. Isaac Luria, of blessed memory, stated10 that [the soul of] every11Jew needs to be reincarnated many times, until he will fulfill all 613 commandments of the Torah in thought, speech and action, i.e., using all three soul-garments with which one performs the commandments.

להשלים לבושי נפשו ולתקנם שלא יהא לבושא דחסרא כו'

This is in order to complete the garments of his soul and to correct them, so that no garment will be incomplete.

As explained in Tanya, ch. 4, the divine soul has three garments - the thought, speech and action of the 613 commandments of the Torah. If the performance of one of these commandments is lacking, the soul's garments are incomplete. It is thus necessary for each soul to perform all of the commandments.

לבד מצות התלויות במלך שהוא מוציא כל ישראל כי הוא כללות כולם כו'

Excepted12 are the commandments incumbent upon a king,13 because he discharges the obligation of all of Israel, as he is a corporate collective of them all.14

All Jews are incorporated within the king. When he performs those commandments that depend upon him, it is therefore considered as if all the Jewish people had performed them. As to the other commandments, however, if in one incarnation an individual did not perform them all, he must be reincarnated so that he will be able to do so.

Why must one have the garments of all 613 commandments?

והטעם הוא כדי להלביש כל תרי"ג בחי' וכחות שבנפשו

The reason is, in order to garb all the 613 aspects and powers of one's soul,

Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Divine efflux

 This [ascent] effects a union there, between the spiritually feminine Sefirah of Malchut and the spiritually masculine levels of Divine efflux that transcend it,


Iggeret HaKodesh, end of Epistle 27

Sunday, November 27, 2022

Why women shouldn't study Torah and how women have an easier life.

 Why women shouldn't study Torah and how women have an easier life. 

947 - Skill of Silence, Rabbi Miller, around 1:26:26

Thursday, November 3, 2022

Do women get a separate Olam Haboh or do they share it with their husband? Rav Avigdor Miller

 

Do women get a separate Olam Haboh or do they share it with their husband?

 Q:

Do women get a separate Olam Haboh or do they share it with their husband?

A:
The answer is, Olam Haboh is never the same for any two individuals. It’s not the same for any two individuals. מלמד שכל צדיק וצדיק יש לו חופה לפי כבודו – Each tzadik has a canopy according to his glory, according to what he deserves. Nobody is the same in Olam Haboh. 

Now the question is, women in general, will they have a lesser kind of glory than men? And the answer is certainly not. Each person has opportunities and will be rewarded exactly according to the way he or she utilizes those opportunities.

The truth is that women have a promise that men don’t have. It says גדולה הבטחה – Greater is the promise that Hakodosh Boruch Hu gave to women. And that means as follows: Women are not subject to the difficulties that men have – and they don’t have all the opportunities that man have. 

One example: Men have opportunity, and also a drive, for more arrogance. A man has a beard; a beard makes the chin look bigger, you have to know that. A beard gives you a big chin; it makes you look more authoritative. Whereas women are humble; they more resemble young people, they more resemble children. They are more modest, more retiring than men by nature.

Everybody knows, if you have boys and girls among your children you know that the boys are the ones that you get the most Olam Haboh for raising. A woman with a lot of boys, it’s said about her that will not see the pischo shel Gehenom. She won’t see even the entrance of Gehenom because she has it already in this world.

Now, I suppose it’s fun too – finally you’ll marry off all your sons and the other party will have to make the chasuna and give the dowry if you have sons. But it’s a few years till you marry them off and raising sons is a big job because sons are more pugnacious. No question about that boys have a fighting spirit that girls don’t have. 

Boys however, because of this drive, they can accomplish more than girls and that’s why they’re given more opportunities than girls outside the home.  Women are loaded down with responsibilities of a home; you can’t leave your children and run to shachris – you have to stay home and take care of the children. And that’s their nature – Hashem gave them certain instincts that are best utilized in the home. The instinct of rachmonus, pity. The word rachamim comes from the word rechem; that’s a womanly instinct, to have pity. And also a love for children and so on. So women can become great in the sphere of her home – but they don’t have the opportunities and dangers that men have. 

Men go out in a conflict. Sometimes there is a machlokes even between chachomim, between sages. And sometimes the machlokes leads to other things besides pure Torah machlokes, and there’s a big responsibility there. Shaul and Dovid were both big tzadikim but Shaul was misled to some extent by his manliness, by his desire to remain a king. He felt it was his responsibility and to a certain extent he was misled by that. The queen of Shaul and the queen of Dovid didn’t have any fights between themselves. Neither of them were pugnacious; they didn’t have the arrogance that Hakodosh Boruch Hu gave to males. So גדולה הבטחה – greater is the promise that is given to women. 

It says נשים שעננות בוטחות – Quiet daughters, daughters who are trusting. It means Hakodosh Boruch Hu said, “You can trust in Me because your reward is more guaranteed.”

However, men can achieve more greatness, because if they utilize their more violent natures, their drive, they can become greater. But it’s a bigger danger too.

However, in a certain sense women and men are partners in the reward of Olam Haboh. Because in addition to the first principle of each one being rewarded according to his opportunities – a woman can become great in her life just like men become great in their lives – but there is also another area where they share their reward. And that’s when a woman is married to a man who forges ahead in serving Hashem and she serves in the background; with encouragement and he needs also a home, he needs all the wherewithal of life to enable him to continue. And certainly if she is the one to inspires him to even more effort, then surely. So therefore here is an opportunity for women to be sharers even in the achievements of men.

Woman also can achieve by means of their sons or if they marry off their daughters to sons in law. It’s a greatness for women when their children, or their grandchildren, or their sons in law pursue da’as Hashem and are oisek in Torah and in mitzvos; it’s all credited to the parents, men and women.

So therefore we’ll sum up now in two ways the answer to this.

Women on their own are rewarded according to their opportunities and nobody is going to lose because he wasn’t made a man or wasn’t made a woman; each person will be rewarded according to his or her opportunities.

But in addition, there are some things that men and women share together because they are partners. Like Rabbi Akiva. When Rabbi Akiva came back after twenty four years and he became a national Torah leader, and everybody came to pay homage to him, so Rabbi Akiva said (Nedarim 50a), “My Torah and the Torah that you learnt from me, is all hers,” and he pointed to this woman Rochel, his wife whom he hadn’t seen in twenty four years. He said, “This woman is responsible for all the Torah that I have, and all the Torah that you learnt from me.”

So now you when you look back on our history, the gemora says about Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Shimon, Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua and Rabbi Yosi, that all of them were talmidim of Rabbi Akiva. And the Gemara says that all of our Torah comes from these five sages who were disciples of Rabbi Akiva. But Rabbi Akiva himself was the result, he was the creation that was brought into being by the spirit of one woman, Rochel. So here now Rochel, the wife of Rabbi Akiva, is actually the rebbe of the Jewish nation.

So it’s possible for women to attain that second form of greatness in addition to her nature and instincts and characteristics that give her opportunity to gain perfection of her own.

TAPE # 382, Rav Avigdor Miller

Thursday, October 13, 2022

daas torah blog on binah

 

Maharal - Women have binah yeseira - they have extra primordial intellect as opposed to the abstract intellect of man

The Maharal is often cited as a rabbinic authority that recognizes the equality or even superiority of woman over man. It is important to understand what his views actually are. Here is an example of the Maharal's understanding of gender differences regarding "binah yeseira" (extra understanding) - which is often cited to indicate that woman has superior intellectual powers.

However it is clear that the Maharal does not understand it that way. He comments are similar to those found in the Ibn Ezra and Ralbag as well as the Rambam and other Rishonim - that there is a coarser more primitive nature to women's intelligence and it is primarily useful in dealing with material rather than spiritual issues. There is a problem in that bina yeseira does not just mean practical or mundane wisdom
Peskita Zutrasa[1](Lekach Tov Devarim Zos Habracha):Yehoshua ben Nun – Why was was his name ben Nun? Because he had bina yeseira and similar we see in Bamidbar (34), Because Moshe placed his hands on him. G-d had only said to Moshe to place one hand on him and yet he placed both hands. From here we learn that a teacher is not jealous of his students....
Malbim(Divrei HaYomim 2:26.5):  
מלבי"ם דברי הימים ב כו
(ה) ויהי לדרוש אלהים. שר"ל שהיה אז העת המוכן לדרוש אלהים, כי היה בימי זכריה המבין בראות אלהים, שהנביאים ובעלי רוה"ק היו צופים במראות אלהים כמו יחזקאל שראה המרכבה, ויתר מחזות שראו הנביאים. והיה ביניהם מדרגות, שיש מהם שלא הבינו כל המראה על אמתתה, כי המראות הם ציונים מושכלים שעל ידם יציינו להם ההשגות הנוראות, כמו העולמות וההיכלות והפרצופים והספירות שרואים הנכנסים בפרדס, שיש מהם שהציץ ונפגע, ומעשה בתינוק שיצא אש מחשמל, כי צריך בינה יתירה להבין דבר מתוך דבר כר"ע שנכנס בשלום ויצא בשלום, וזכריה היה מבין המראות, ובדור שנמצא איש כזה היה העת לדרוש אלהים ממנו, ובימים שדרשו את ה' הצליחו. עתה יתחיל לספר הצלחותיו, א] נגד האויב החיצון:


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Maharal[1](Nida 45b): This teaches that G-d gave bina yeseira (extra understanding) to the woman The explanation is G-d gave primordial (hayulani) intelligence to the woman because she is extra prepared for this. However the man has intelligence (seichel) and wisdom (chochma) in extra measure which is abstract intelligence. Primordial intelligences enables the woman to accept more. And thus our Sages say (Bava Metzia 59a), If your wife is short bend down and listen to her. According to one view this is referring to household matters while according to another view it is talking about worldly matters. That is because the woman’s intelligence comes from primordial intelligence which is more relevant to her than the man. Consequently regarding heavenly matters one should not listen to the advice of his wife because a woman has no connection to wisdom which requires abstract intelligence. It is important to understand clearly what our Sages hint at when they say woman was given extra binah (understanding). This is based on the language “vayiven” (build) where G-d builds  woman from the side of man. That is because the woman completes the building of man and from this aspect she has wisdom because completion produces this. Nevertheless the level of man is that he has abstract intelligence. It is important to understand this.