I am connected to Chabad and enjoy the Chabad world and Chabad chaddius, so I write this from disappointment rather than from generalized hostility-to-Chabad disorder. Here are 4 places where modern Chabad books push the spirituality vort, as I call it. None of this is from any of the Rebbes or great Chassidish scholars. It's all from contemporary editors who obviously have been influenced by feminism or perhaps more so the uncontrollable urge to say anything to appease women's concerns about feminism or even more dangerously men's concerns about women's concerns about feminism.
1)
Feminine Faith is a handsome edition of the Maharash’s maamer להבין עניין החודש החדש. However, I take issue with a theme found in the introduction and notes as presented by the annotators Rabbi Shai Taub and Rabbi Avraham Vaisfische. They say that “the Jewish women repeatedly distinguished themselves as possessing a greater degree of spiritual sensitivity than the men.” (p. 13) They write, “The feminine soul, Rabbi Shmuel explains, imbues women with a greater awareness of G-d’s presence and, hence, a greater aversion to idolatry.” (p. 14) And they explain the Maharash as saying that “they (women) are generally more predisposed to the presence of G-dliness, as it dwells within these lower realms, as the discourse proceeds to explain.” (p. 51). I don’t see where the Maharash says all that. They are the annotators’ own thoughts. The Maharash says only that women did not sin by the golden calf because their source is Malchus and the men’s source is Z’A of Atzilus, which is higher and more removed from the lower worlds: “for the souls of the men are from the masculine plane, z’eyr anpin of Azilut, which is utterly exalted and elevated above and beyond the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah.” (pp. 51-2) Thus, women, by virtue of being from a lower source(!) did not accept the claim of the erev rav that Hashem could be removed from the lower worlds. They “felt in their souls” that such an outlook was wrong. That’s what the Maharash says about it.
The annotators’ comments raise it to a broad generalization – a sexist one – and present the Maharash as saying something he isn’t saying. Maybe you can argue that the Maharash IMPLIES that women in general have a stronger sense of hashgacha in the lower worlds. However, spirituality is much broader than sensing hashgacha alone. Spirituality and a sense of G-dliness includes intellectual perception, deveikus, self-restraint, bitul, inspiration, separation from materialism, and many other inyanim. There are as many aspects to spirituality as there are mitzvos. The Maharal, who is the source for much of the Baal HaTanya’s thought, says in many places that women are more materialistic than men, and men operate on a higher plane than women. (Tiferes Yisroel 4 and 28, Chidushei Agadosh Makkos 23b, et al.)
In contrast to the notion that women are more averse to idol worship, the Mishnah says that “the increase of wives increases witchcraft.” The Maharal explains:
Certainly, kosher Jewish women don’t practice witchcraft. Nevertheless, she leans towards witchcraft as it is a lower level of being. Witchcraft is found more in women. Because of the lowness of the level of witchcraft it is found in women since they are lower in the level. Witchcraft comes from the power of materialism that is found in women. (Derech Chaim 2:8)
To say women are more averse to idolatry in general or are more sensitive to spirituality in general is contradicted by the Maharal along with many other commentators. Most importantly, the Maharash doesn’t make any such statement, and the book consists of his maamer.
So why in this case were the women averse to the golden calf? It could be as the Maharash explains that in this case the particular argument of the eruv rav was that Hashem wasn’t involved in the lower worlds and that the constellation of Taurus had defeated Aries. Since the source of the men’s souls comes from a higher place within Tikun, they are more aloof to an aspect of spirituality as it appears in the lower worlds. But surely that must give the men advantages in other aspects of spirituality. It’s complicated. We can’t summarize it with a sound bite and say that women are better with spirituality.
Remember also that Moshe had been delayed. It was a moment of crisis and a special event. The men are the ones who are under pressure to be the leaders, so they are more likely to make a mistake in leadership than are people, like the women, who are more passive. It’s a complicated story. The men who allowed the golden calf miscalculated. They weren’t idol worshipers. What about the tribe of Levy and the leaders of the tribes who did not permit the small group to make an idol? They were men. They have the same spiritual source as other men.
Commentators have debated this for thousands of years. The Ibn Ezra and the Ramban engage in a lengthy debate over the intentions of the nation in committing the sin. Both commentators agree that the nation sought to adapt itself to its spiritual precariousness in Moshe’s absence. They shared a premise that the nation strove to maintain its spiritual level in Moshe’s absence. Their act was a grave sin, but the sin of inspired and highly spiritual people. As the Ibn Ezra says, “Heaven forbid, Heaven forbid that Aaron should make an idol, or that Israel would want an idol. Rather, they thought Moshe was dead....When they did this it was with the intention of honoring Hashem....However, the mixed multitude influenced them....And a few of the Jews thought it was an idol...The number that thought of it as an idol was less than three thousand. This is less than a half of one percent of the camp” (Ibn Ezra, Shemos 32:1)
The book’s footnote 102 is problematic. It says correctly that Malchus is passive and “contains that which the other sefirot pour into it.” However, it fails to say explicitly that Z’A is higher than Malchus. Yet it manages to tell us explicitly that the root of Malchus is higher since it is found in Radla, the “deepest and innermost level of the essence of G-d…”
I believe that this also is an inaccurate phrasing. Radla, being the inner partzuf of keter, is certainly very elevated. However, it results from countless gradations of tzimtzum. It is not the innermost level of the essence of God.
Moreover, when you talk about something having a higher ultimate source, you have to say that the higher source becomes lower when put in the world of Tikun. (Alter Rebbe, Torah Ohr, Volume 1, Parshas Vayigash, page 86 in the standard Kehot edition; Likutei Torah 2:34c) If you say one without the other, you wind up with a picture that is radical even to radical feminists. You get what nearly amounts to an idolatry of the woman. She becomes the goddess. It seems to me that the annotators are doing everything they can to create such a picture. Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch cautioned us:
In the word איש and אשה lay the guarantee for the equality in rank and mutually complementing calling of Man and Woman. As long as man and woman were איש and אשה there was no need for man to be emancipated from woman nor woman from man, neither could make the other into a slave nor yet into a god or goddess. The first who altered this designation ─ as indeed our sages remark, in no other language are man and woman designated by words coming from the same root and so regarded from the same trend of thought ─ brought it about that one man would yoke his woman to the plough while the other would throw himself at her feet. (Commentary on Genesis 11:7)
All of this has implications in many areas of life including shalom bayis. I know of one troubled couple where the wife tells the husband regularly that she is higher than him so he must obey her. It sounds perverse, but this is what she is being taught. Other women aren’t as explicit about it, but the attitude permeates the outlook of many. Yet, the Gemara in Baba Matzia 59a says that the man who goes about in the counsel of his wife goes to gehennom. Would that be the case if she were more generally spiritual than he? The Baal Magen Avraham says women have a weaker yetzer tov (“it doesn’t rule over them so much”. (Zies Ra’anan on Yalkut Shimoni, Shmuel 1:1) and that’s why they are exempt from positive time bound commandments. “Because if they were commanded, they likely would not do them.”
I am aware that the idea of women having a superior spirituality circulates in many parts of the frum world, but as far as I can tell, it’s not correct. It’s apologetics. The notion was created in recent years as an improper response to feminism, but it really doesn’t make sense when you put thought into it. The rabbis are all men. Wouldn’t you want the more spiritually sensitive people to be the leaders? The elders were men. Should the women have been in charge in the Midbar? What about today? Why are men running the rabbinate? One could propose that maybe we do need women rabbis. Maybe we should only have women rabbis. Such a thought follows from the presentation in this book.
The idea of women being spirituality superior contradicts the classic sources among the Acharonim including, in addition to the Maharal, Rav Tzadock, the Baal Magen Avraham, the Vilna Gaon, the Akeidas Yitzchok, the Baal Shevet Musar, Rav Moshe Feinstein, Rav Yosef Soloveitchik, and others including the Lubavitcher Rebbe. See Sichos in English, Iyar-Tammuz 5744, Vol. 21, pp. 69-72. Regarding the exemption of women from positive time-bound commandments the Rebbe says:
We shall resolve this difficulty by first explaining why in general there are certain mitzvos which women are not obligated to carry out. It is not because women are inferior to men. It is because G-d has given each Jew a mission uniquely suited to the individual: A task for men and a separate task for women – and a mission common to both men and women.
You’ll note that he doesn’t say anything about women being superior, just that they are not inferior. He doesn’t make a competition of it. He doesn’t elevate one at the expense of the other. He doesn’t cause strife. That is the proper and productive approach to take. Let us follow his example.
Some sources to look at:
Maharal, Gur Aryeh, Vayikra 12:2, beginning of parshas Tazriah.
Chidushei Agados, Makos 23b
Chidushei Agados, Baba Matzia 59a
Chidushei Agados, Nidah 45b
Derech Chaim 1:5
Derech Chaim 2:9
Tiferes Yisrael 28
Tiferes Yisrael 4
Some excerpts:
"Rav Tachlifa says, it is fitting to proceed with women first (regarding the receiving of the Torah). And this is because the decree and the command from Hashem, may He be blessed, to man who receives it, is the covenant and the connection of Hashem to man, who received the decree. And this is explained in many places. And since the man is more fitting to the covenant and the connection with Hashem, may He be blessed, since the woman is more physical, and the level of the woman is not like that of the man, therefore, the man was commanded first since his level was close to Hashem, may He be blessed....And afterwards the man was commanded his connection and his level are greater than that of the woman." Maharal, Tiferes Yisroel 28
"And now we can understand that woman who is material is obligated to observe the Negative Commandments but is not obligated in all the Positive Commandments. That is because the spiritual level of women does not reach to the highest level - which is the level of the Positive Commandments that a woman would function fully - because she is material." Maharal, Chidushei Agados, Makos 23b
"After the Mishnah mentions possessions, as they are relevant to a man, it says 'more wives more witchcraft.' Reference to the woman comes after that of possessions because the man needs the woman to take care of his house. And it says that she increases witchcraft. Even if he is married to Avigail. Certainly, kosher Jewish women don’t practice witchcraft. Nevertheless, she leans towards witchcraft as it is a lower level of being. Witchcraft is found more in women. Because of the lowness of the level of witchcraft it is found in women since they are lower in the level. Witchcraft comes from the power of materialism that is found in women. Therefore, witchcraft only works when a person is standing on the earth. Therefore, increase of women brings a man to the level of witchcraft. And even if she doesn’t actually practice witchcraft, nevertheless, he will lean towards the lowness and lacking due to the increase of wives since their increase will tend him towards the lowness of witchcraft." Maharal, Derech Chaim 2:8
"All those who follow the advice of their wife fall into Gehinom – This is truly incredible. We explain this also in relationship to Avos (1:5), All those who talk a lot with their wives are idle from words of Torah and in the end they inherit Gehinom. You should know that the woman is compared to Substance while the man is compared to the Form in every place. And when the Form is not separated from the Substance but rather the Form follows after the Substance entirely – he falls in Gehinom. That is because it is well known that the deficit is attached and bound with the Substance. This is alluded to by the Sages when they noted that when the woman was created the Samech was created with her. Because we don’t find the letter Samech in the Torah until the woman was created. ויסגר בשר תחתנה Bereishis (2:21) and closed up the flesh. That teaches you that with the woman was attached the deficit which is Satan who is the Angel of Death. When the Form follows after the Substance the Form obtains the deficit. That is because Gehinom is only the complete deficit as we learn from the names Gehinom itself." Maharal, Bava Metzia 59a.
"And because the feminine leans towards the physical, her completion does not reside with the distinctly spiritual matters. Certainly she has these (purely spiritual traits) but not as much." Derech Chaim 2:9 (on the Mishnah: Amar lehem tzoo u’rahoo) d’h’ U’Mizeh.
As mentioned, in addition to the Maharal, there are numerous other commentators who make similar comments asserting the higher spiritualty of the male. They include the following:
Akeidas Yitzchak (Chapter 6)
Abarbanel (Bereshis, Chapter 1)
Baal Magen Avraham (Ziet Ra'anan on Yalkut Shemoni, Shmuel 1:1)
Vilna Gaon (Even Shelaimah 1:8)
Rav Tzadock (Dover Tzedeck p. 119)
Baal Shevet Musar (Midrash Talpiyos, Ohs Aleph, Anaf Isha)
The Chabad Kehot Chumash is a beautiful work and the Lubavitcher Rebbe's commentary is reflective of a man who is a "thinker" and a "big talmid chocham" as Rabbi Avigdor Miller described him.
So I was disappointed to see on page 435, Shemos 19:3 the statement "women are more naturally predisposed toward spirituality." I thought, the Rebbe couldn't have said this. It's a modern day feminist myth that has spread throughout much of the Orthodox world. I checked the footnote and sure enough the source given is not the Rebbe. It's Maharal, Derush Al Torah.
So is the Maharal the source? No, he is not. All he says in Derush Al Torah is that women as receivers are more ready to receive their reward. Men are more aggressive and need Torah to help tame that aggressiveness to ready them to receive their reward. This is not a statement regarding general spirituality. It could be that male aggressiveness, when applied properly, is a good tool for uncovering spirituality as we find with limud Torah.
However, the Maharal says in many other places that the male is more spiritual and operates on a higher plane. For example:
Maharal, Gur Aryeh, Vayikra 12:2, beginning of parshas Tazriah.
Chidushei Agados, Makos 23b
Chidushei Agados, Baba Matzia 59a
Chidushei Agados, Nidah 45b
Derech Chaim 1:5
Derech Chaim 2:9
Tiferes Yisrael 28
Tiferes Yisrael 4
Daily
Wisdom is a
terrific book. It has great selections and succinct presentations.
However,
the reading Thursday: Feminine Power Fifth Reading: Genesis 21:5–21, p. 32,
says "Nowadays, as we approach the Messianic Era, all of us can welcome
the flowering of feminine power in the world, acknowledging that women’s more
intense experience of physical life grants them a higher level of spiritual
insight than that given to men.1"
The
source given is Likutei Sichot, vol. 1, p. 31. However, when I
tried to look that up I didn't find any such comment by the Rebbe. I looked inthe Yiddish edition, originally published in
1962? I looked also in the 2004 edition and the Hebrew editions.
I wrote to the editor. He said to look in Likutei Sichot vol. 1 pp. 31-34 or the Hebrew (Volume 1, pp. 28-30, parshas Chaye Sarah, 5711) I did that but did not find it to be a source for the passage in question from Daily Wisdom (Thursday: Feminine Power Fifth Reading: Genesis 21:5–21). The sicha does not mention Ishmael or prophecy, doesn't say that "The more attuned a prophet is to the affairs of this world, the greater his or her degree of prophecy" (editor's words) and doesn’t say anywhere that “women’s more intense experience of physical life grants them a higher level of spiritual insight than that given to men” (editor's words).
The sicha asks, since the Zohar says that Avraham is the neshama and Sarah the guf (a statement which in itself contradicts the notion that women are more spiritual) why would Avraham be told, “listen to what Sarah tells you.” The Rebbe explains that there are virtues to the guf in that we perform mitzvos with it, that even duties of the heart are performed to some extent with the guf, that in the era of Moshiach the importance of the guf will be revealed and the guf will even give chayos to the neshama. This importance is reflected in the call to “listen to what Sarah tells you.” In other words, there’s something positive about the guf. It’s a kind of remez or underlying meaning in the posuk. It is not to be taken to mean that the physical is superior to the spiritual in this world, just that there are positive elements to the physical. That’s what you are supposed to take from the idea of listening to Sarah.
It seems almost a separate topic from the statement that prophecy comes to those more involved with worldly affairs and the editor's conclusion that women have more spiritual insight because of this. If prophecy came more to those involved with worldly affairs wouldn’t the famous prophets be kings, merchants, generals, or even laborers and women? Why are 95% of the prophets in Tanach men? Besides this, as the Netziv writes, Sarah lived a more sheltered life in the tent. That's why her ruach ha-kodesh and not her prophecy is greater. He says when the Midrash refers to prophecy it means ruach ha-kodesh, which is a lower type of prophecy. It is hindered by one's being out in the world, which Avraham was.
Since the sicha is in Chaye Sarah and the passage in Daily Wisdom is in Vayera, perhaps the editor is mistaken about the source he used. I realize that the posuk about listening to Sarah is in Vayera, but still the explanation he gives is not found in the sicha.
Perhaps he is reading into the sicha and proposing that if Sarah is more physical and Hashem says listen to her (in this instance) that it is implied that her involvement with the physical gives her greater spiritual insight via prophecy. That would be his own idea because the Rebbe doesn’t say that. He doesn’t mention prophecy at all. I suppose the editor is drawing from the famous Rashi on the posuk. But again, that’s his commentary not the Rebbe’s. I assume when I read a presentation of a sicha, that the editor is giving me a faithful rendition of the Rebbe's words, not his own commentary.
But if that's the logic, I think that he is really stretching the idea because, again, our starting point is that Avraham is the neshama (which is the spiritual entity) and Sarah is the guf. The guf doesn’t in general have special insight above the neshama. If it did, then our task would be to let the nefesh bahaymus rule over the nefesh Elokis. If women had all the insight, wouldn’t they be the rabbis? Our religion is completely dominated by male leadership. The Gemara and the Zohar contain the teachings of men. The Gemara says the one who goes about in the counsel of his wife goes to gehennom (BM 59a). The Maharal says in many places that the male is the tzurah and the woman the chomer and the male is more spiritual and better connected to Hashem (Tiferes Yisroel 4 and 28, Derech Chaim on al sirba sicha im ha-isha and marbe nashim marbe kishofim, et. al.) It seems to me that the presentation here contradicts all of that. If the Rebbe actually said what the editor wrote, that would be another matter, but as I see from the actual sicha, he doesn’t say it. If indeed this sicha is what the editor used as a source, it seems to me that he is projecting onto the sicha a widespread but erroneous idea that women are more spiritual in general than men. There is no Torah source that makes such a claim and there are many that say the opposite, that in general, it is the male who is more spiritual, or, at least, has a more powerful spiritual energy.
Maharal:
"All those who follow the advice of their wife fall into Gehinom – This is truly incredible. We explain this also in relationship to Avos (1:5), All those who talk a lot with their wives are idle from words of Torah and in the end they inherit Gehinom. You should know that the woman is compared to Substance while the man is compared to the Form in every place. And when the Form is not separated from the Substance but rather the Form follows after the Substance entirely – he falls in Gehinom. That is because it is well known that the deficit is attached and bound with the Substance. This is alluded to by the Sages when they noted that when the woman was created the Samech was created with her. Because we don’t find the letter Samech in the Torah until the woman was created. ויסגר בשר תחתנה Bereishis (2:21) and closed up the flesh. That teaches you that with the woman was attached the deficit which is Satan who is the Angel of Death. When the Form follows after the Substance the Form obtains the deficit. That is because Gehinom is only the complete deficit as we learn from the names Gehinom itself." Maharal, Bava Metzia 59a.
"After the Mishnah mentions possessions, as they are relevant to a man, it says 'more wives more witchcraft.' Reference to the woman comes after that of possessions because the man needs the woman to take care of his house. And it says that she increases witchcraft. Even if he is married to Avigail. Certainly, kosher Jewish women don’t practice witchcraft. Nevertheless, she leans towards witchcraft as it is a lower level of being. Witchcraft is found more in women. Because of the lowness of the level of witchcraft it is found in women since they are lower in the level. Witchcraft comes from the power of materialism that is found in women. Therefore, witchcraft only works when a person is standing on the earth. Therefore, increase of women brings a man to the level of witchcraft. And even if she doesn’t actually practice witchcraft, nevertheless, he will lean towards the lowness and lacking due to the increase of wives since their increase will tend him towards the lowness of witchcraft." Maharal, Derech Chaim 2:8
Daily Wisdom is a wonderful book, as is the Kehot Chumash, but both suffer from this injection of an external idea, an apologetic feminist notion, that is not based on Torah sources, but is presented as if it is. This mistake is common these days. Nevertheless, it needs to be corrected.
I love the [ book series name redacted ] series. However, the books don’t specify the sichas on which they are based.
[ book name redacted ], Vol 3, b’shalach. says
"A woman’s contribution comes in controlling the emotional environment of the home. Women have a greater sensitivity to spiritual truth. A woman arrives at knowledge by establishing a personal bond with the idea she wants to discover. She makes it part of herself instead of treating it as merely an abstract concept."
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