Maharal Deroshos Al Hatorah 27

"However, from this aspect the men need to toil and struggle in Torah without rest night and day. This is why the verse says “tell the sons of Israel,” a phrasing harsh like sinews (the root of the word sinew is related to the word to tell) that invokes the great toil (of Torah study). However, the women are spoken to in a gentle language because they don’t need this so much. Nevertheless, they (the women) are better fit for the divine reward due to their tranquility."

Q&A: Thursday Nights with Rabbi Miller

Q: If tzitizis and teffillin are so beneficial, why don't women use them? And what do they have instead?

A: The truth. is women do have it, because when men put tzitzis and tefillin, they're not putting it on for themselves. That’s absolutely not true. Every father puts on tzitzis and tefllin for all of his children and for his wife, too. There's no question that tzitzis and tefillin are the property of the Am Yisroel. But, more precisely, the family shares in all the mitzvos. So while he's putting on tzitzis and tefillin in the shull, let's say, and his wife is taking care of the children at home, somebody has to remain at home - he couldn't go to the synagogue if she weren't home. There's no question that it’s her tzitzis and her tefillin. That's the way to understand it. It's silly otherwise! And when he comes to study Torah in the evening, who will babysit? And, therefore, she has one hundred percent partnership in all that the does.

Q&A: Thursday Nights with Rabbi Miller, pp. 189-190.

Is there a difference between the neshamah of a man and a woman?

Is there a difference between the neshamah of a man and a woman?

When it comes to the actual makeup of the neshamah there's no difference, whatsoever. But when it comes to a person's role in perfecting that neshamah, Hakadosh Baruch Hu has given each individual a different way and opportunity to go about doing so. For example, when a woman gets married and dedicates her life to her family, to someone other than herself, she is transforming her very nature. If a mother would retain her selfishness, it would be impossible for her to function successfully in her role. She has her children to worry about; sometimes they may not be feeling well, and it is she who will be responsible for tending to them. She has to prepare food for her family, and they rely upon her for many other things as well. She has to carry a child within her and eventually nurse that child. In short, she has dedicated her life to others. But in order for a mother to be able to perfect her neshamah, she mustn't merely do "acts of kindness" like the gentiles do. Rather, her chessed should be with the intention of serving Hashem! This brings Hakadosh Baruch Hu a great amount of satisfaction, and He therefore exclaims, "By assisting others, you are helping My people and serving Me in a form that is most desirous." Imagine what a great accomplishment it is to bring up future servants of Hashem! This is what Chavah exclaimed when she bore Kayin, "Kanisi ish es Hashem," I have acquired a man - a son - not alone, but with Hashem! Giving birth to children and then raising them so that they will one day be servants of Hashem is an extremely important achievement for her neshamah, and it goes a long way in earning it the perfection that it needs. A woman is not expected to devote her hours to Torah learning, nor is she expected to meditate upon Torah ideas. She can certainly do so if she wishes, but her main area of achievement will be in transforming her neshamah through acts of chessed intended to benefit Hashem's people. A man, however, has to perfect his neshamah in a different way. While a man neither gives birth to children nor nurses babies, there are still multitudes of ways through which he can earn perfection. A man must go to work to earn a living, and there are very many nisyonos that he will encounter throughout his day. An entire section of Shulchan Aruch was written to deal with the laws that apply when one has to compete with another for a livelihood! There's a very great perfection a man can acquire when out making a living! Of course a man is also required to dedicate a part of his day to Torah learning, and other mitzvos that a woman wouldn’t have time to perform because of her day to day responsibilities. We see, therefore, that a man and woman secure perfection for their respective neshamahs in different ways.

Rabbi Avidgor Miller Speaks, pp. 245-246.

Who Leads?

“This will-subordination of the wife to the husband is a necessary condition of the unity which man and wife should form together. The subordination cannot be the other way about, since the man as zachar has to carry forward the divine and human messages which through every marriage are to be a living force in the household, and to which the husband and wife are in union to devote their forces. Just as the first command of God though addressed to the man was given through him for the woman as well, just as in consequence Adam should not have thrown over the command of God for the sake of Eve but Eve ought to have subjected her desire to the will of God as expressed to her though Adam, so thenceforward the husband was to be responsible for the task imposed upon man by God and to carry it out in his marriage and household.” R' Hirsch, Judaism Eternal, vol. II, p 58.

Chukim and Mishpatim

Generally, hukkim seem to be irrational and, if not for the 

Divine imperative, we would never observe them. We assume 

a Divine purpose and value, but we cannot fathom them. The 

mishpatim, on the other hand, reflect cultural and humanistic 

considerations. Yet the force of the Divine command applies to 

both, demanding observance and unqualified commitment. We 

intend to analyze the nature of the hok and also to explain why 

the mishpat needs the support of the same Divine imperative 

as the [10k. Would oursocial conscience not be sufficient motiva- 

tion for the mishpat?

Analyzing the Hok. Rashi cites a Rabbinic comment on the 

Parah Adumah rite: "It is a decree ordained by Me. You have 

no right to question it" (Num. 19:2). This suggests that the 

hok can be defined as an absolute norm and an ultimate com- 

mand, demanding total submission without reservations. It is to 

be affirmed even if "Satan and the nations of the world taunt 

Israel," ridiculing its irrationality. The observant Jew accepts 

the Torah even as a patient follows the prescription of his doc- 

tor, taking complex medications and submitting to required 

surgical procedures. We may seek to understand and make all 

possible inquiries, but ultimately we accept it on faith. The Lord, 

Creator and Healer of all flesh, undoubtedly knows what is best 

for our bodies and souls as well as what is harmful to them. 

Reflections of the Rav, p. 100

R’ Joseph B. Soloveitchik

Explaining R' Hirsch - RABBI YOEL CHONON WENGER Montreal, Quebec

Letter to the Jewish Observer

To the Editor:

The November issue featured a letter regarding the reason for the exemption of women from many mitzvos. The writer disagrees with Rabbi Yisroel ben Reuven's rejection of the idea that "women are higher spiritually than men and are not in need of [timebound] commandments;” citing Rabbi S. R. Hirsch as a source for this concept. Rabbi Hirsch actually states that "women have greater fervor and more faithful enthusiasm for their G-d given calling" and are less at risk than men, who must go out in professional and business pursuits. This is no way stating that women are spiritually superior. (He does not even say that women have more fervor and enthusiasm than men; he states that they have proportionally more zeal for their assigned tasks.)

Rabbi Hirsch is explaining that women are naturally endowed with emuna peshuta (unquestioning faith), and a woman's role of living a sheltered life of v'hinei Sora ba'ohel (Sarah, in the tent) is removed from the many temptations that face man. Rabbi Hirsch explains that a woman's position in a Torah life protects her from the temptations that abound and the risks that time-bound mitzvos were given to protect against. Therefore, she does not require those mitzvos. These characteristics should not be confused with spirituality. This is similar to the position of a king who has special mitzvos to protect him from arrogance and pride; his role is such that he requires the protection of additional mitzvos. Would anyone dream of saying that the king is lower spiritually than the rest of Klal Yisroel because of his need for additional mitzvos?

With the above we can catch a glimpse of the perfection of the creation and the unity of Torah that guides it. The Abudraham explains that women are exempt from time-bound mitzvos so that mitzvos should not interfere with their family obligations. In other words, their main obligation and profession is to assist their spouse and raise a family. The Creator planned things accordingly, and gave them emotional and psychological characteristics to help them fulfill their purpose. Their emuna peshuta helps them prepare a proper environment for the next generation. Their enthusiasm and maternal instincts protect them from the desire to leave the home. Those same characteristics make them less susceptible to the problems that confront men which the constant reminders of certain mitzvos alleviates. The Creator endowed them with their specific makeup so that they should not require certain mitzvos, because they would not be able to fulfill them without encroaching on their primary mission. As we become aware of these insights in creation and its purpose, we can only marvel: Ma tabu ma'asechaHashem-How vast are Your deeds, Oh G-d!

RABBI YOEL CHONON WENGER Montreal, Quebec

The Jewish Observer, February 1997

In some matters of a personal and family nature

In Proverbs (31), Solomon extolled the exemplary woman
who "looks well after her household" and "whose husband is
known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land."
In some matters of a personal and family nature, Sarah's spiri-
tual discernment is praised as being superior to Abraham's.
When her husband hesitated about sending away Hagar and
Ishmael because of Ishmael's baneful influence upon her son
Isaac, God said to Abraham, "All that Sarah says to you, listen
to her voice" (Gen. 21:12).6 Rashi adds, "We may infer that
Abraham was inferior to Sarah in respect of prophecy. "

R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik

(Man of Faith in the Modern World, p. 84).