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 any of 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, 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
across the board.
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 says that Malchus, although lower
then Z’A, is rooted in Radla which it says is the “deepest and innermost level
of the essence of G-d…” I believe that this 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, just because women are from Malchus and Malchus
from Radla that doesn’t mean women, or women alone, are from Radla. Women may
be from Malchus, but they are not Malchus itself.
You have to be careful when you
talk about these topics and when you teach kabbalah. What you have in these
comments from the book 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. Another example, they say man alone was not worthy to
be blessed until the woman was created. But they don’t say that the reverse is
true as well. Women also were not worthy without the man. Another example,
after nearly equating women with Malchus, they say Malchus gives birth to the worlds
below it, suggesting it is women who give birth to it. No, it’s the sefirah of
Malchus, which is a divine channel, that does it. Don’t equate the two.
The attempt to portray the woman
as being almost synonymous with God is made via slippery slope arguments and
exaggerations. 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
today. 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 in our times. 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)
Taz, Orach Chaim, 46
Rambam, Mishnah Horarios 3:7
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