Rav Gifter, parshas Emor

More mitzvos means more spirituality.

pirkei torah pp. 167-8

We cannot survive feminism

"Throughout our history we have faced extraordinary dangers against our physical and spiritual existence, from Korach all the way to the Karaim and the Maskilim. But there has never been, in all of history, as dangerous an attack on Klal Yisrael's existence as the one that the feminist movement presents to us today. We have been able to survive heresy and idolatry, but we cannot survive feminism.

"You have to understand that Klal Yisrael was given a Torah only because the women accepted it. If the women had not accepted the Torah first, there is no way that the men could have maintained it. If there will continue to be a bris between Hashem and ourselves, it can only be if the women of Klal Yisrael want the Torah and accept it with enthusiasm, willingness, and desire. And it is not simply because they are the guides and primary teachers of Jewish children; it is a great deal more.

"Klal Yisrael lives only through the family. Those in the secular world somehow manage a little without a family, but we cannot. That is because we require a morality and a value system that goes against that which is prevalent among the population in which we live. And giving our different values, outlooks, and purpose in life requires a family environment; there is no other way by which that can be accomplished."

Rav Yaakov Weinberg talks about chinuch, 42a, pp. 124-5, Targum Press, 2006.

Commentary on Avos 1:17

The Maharal writes, “The point is that taking into account that a person is a physical being, he gains from silence. Speaking is... a physically based power. Speech is a physical attribute, not a mental one at all. For that reason, speech should be shunned so as not to suffer from an error or mental disintegration. When a person is involved in verbal activity, he is negating his mental resources… One should, therefore [try to] maintain silence and take initiatives with his intellectual features that are not corporeal, as is the power of speech, thus avoiding errors.” (AbsoluteTruth613.blogspot.com)

Q. How do you answer someone that says religious woman are second class?

Q. How do you answer someone that says religious woman are second class?

A. Religious women are A-1 class. There's nobody better than religious women. Now what about religious men? Also A-1. Certainly. We are not going to say women are better than men. They want to say they are second class compared to religious men? Look. With HaKadosh Baruch Hu there's no such thing. Everybody is judged on his merits. Like I mentioned before, a righteous Torah woman, a woman who is Orthodox, and is loyal to HaKadosh Baruch Hu, and tries her best, can many times outdo the biggest tzadickim.

I gave you one example here, the Rebbetzin Kaplan who made a revolution in America, and she did more than any single Rosh Yeshiva did in America.

But even if you are not such a successful personality, in your own home, if you serve HaKadosh Baruch Hu with a pure heart and you try very hard, there's no question you can become great.

What do you want, you want to hold speeches? Speeches are not for women to hold in public. There's a reason for that. It's a biological reason. Can't be helped. Women can speak to women. But you can't become a Rosh Yeshiva if you are a woman. And don't bewail the fact that you can't become a Rav HaKollel, a chief Rabbi. There's a reason why women cannot do that. It's a technical reason.

Therefore, every person should utilize his opportunities. And women have opportunities to become great no less than anyone.

R' Avigdor Miller, I Created All of Them for You #491 1:13:45

linked post http://daattorah.blogspot.com

Maharal (Avos 1:5):Don’t have excessive idle conversations with women. ...That is because one who does is going towards and is attracted to a reality which is lacking and he is clinging to an deficit which is evil. This is like we said above in the introduction that when the woman was created that Satan was created with her. This is stated in Bereishis Rabbah (17), That the letter “samech” does not appear in the Torah until woman was created. This is to teach us that when the woman was created that Satan was created with her. The explanation of this is as we said. The woman is more materialistic then the man because the man is considered to be on the level of Form relative to the woman. And since the woman is more materialistic the Satan was created with her. That is because the Satan is the Angel of Death which is the power which causes a lack amongst the created beings. That is because the lack is associated with material as is known concerning material which it clings and is attracted by the deficit. This is what is meant that when the woman was created that Satan was created with her. In other words this is referring to the level of man because the male is on a higher level than the female. That is because the female is attached to absence and deficit. Now to explain the Mishna which says that whoever has excessive idle conversations with womem causes evil to himself. That is because when a man follows after the woman who is clinging to the deficit – there is no greater evil than the deficit as is well known. This however is does not degrade the woman herself at all. But rather it is saying that when a man goes down from his level to go after a woman with excessive idle chatter then the man is deviating from reality and moves toward deficit. Thus it is negative and evil for the man when he deviates from his proper level which is the level of the male and goes after something which is lower than his proper level.Thus when the Tanna of the Mishna points this out, he is not coming to diminish the love a man has for his wife. Because unquestionably a man should love his wife as he loves himself and the Tanna is not addressing that at all. He is only concerned with a man having excessive idle chatter with his wife. Because to the degree he has excessive idle chatter with his wife he goes down from the level of the male and is attracted to material which is attached to deficit. Thus he is causing evil to himself.[to be continued] 

Gra (Mishlei 10:1) - Linked Post from daattorah.blogspot.com

Gra (Mishlei 10:1): 1. The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a father glad; but a foolish son is the grief of his mother. ...Furthermore "a wise son...." the kabbalists write that man has within him two forces - the power of the father and the power of the mother. When the power of the father is dominant then he is wise and righteous. However when the power of the mother is dominant then he is a fool. That is why "the wise son makes a father glad" - because the son is manifesting the power of the father. In contrast when he is "a fool who causes his mother grief" - it is because he is manifesting the power of the mother.  In addition "the wise son..." the positive commandments come from the aspect of the father while the negative commandments are from the aspect of the mother - as we explained before (Mishlei 1:8). The righteous are only praised because of the positive commandment while the wicked are only despised because of the negative commandments that they transgress. This is what is meant by "a wise son makes a father glad" In other words he rejoices that the son is manifesting the aspect of the father. In contrast, "a foolish son is the grief of his mother" because he is manifesting the aspect of mother.

Translation by http://daattorah.blogspot.com

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Linked Post: Maharal (Bava Metzia 59a daattorah.blogspot.com

Maharal (Bava Metzia 59a): 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 follow 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... But this is only when the husband listen to her regarding worldly matters. But regarding household matters, “He should bend down and listen to her”. That is because it is clear that the Form stands on the Substance and the Substance serves the Form and is like a house for the Substance. Therefore regarding household matters “He should bend down and listen to her”. In contrast in worldly matters, if the Form follows after the Substance – then such is loss and deficit for the Form. However according to the other answer of the gemora that a husband should listen to his wife also for worldly matters that is because the Form stands on the Substance and thus also advice worldly matters are relevant. It is only spiritual matters that should be avoided from the wife. That is because the husband is considered the abstract Form but not the Form in the Substance. In such a case if the man follows after the Substance it would be a deficit for him. That would mean that the Form which is the abstract Form is sunken in the Substance which is a completely negative for the Form. Understand these matters in depth because they are very clear.

Translation by http://daattorah.blogspot.com

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