Torah study through a woman’s lens
The ceremony of the Giving of the Torah took place on Mount Sinai before the entire Jewish people – men and women.
And, when Moses taught the Torah that he received on Mount Sinai, he first instructed the women and only afterwards the men – not of his own volition but because God commanded him to do so.
This is how we know that the Torah belongs to all of us.
Despite this, the mitzvah of intensive Torah study obligates men but not women.
Still, a woman’s connection and relationship with Torah are both necessary and meaningful, for herself and because she is the pillar of the Jewish home.
How?
Throughout the generations, the connection of women to Torah study took place on three fronts:
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- We have already seen that women are obligated to keep many mitzvahs. Therefore, she must learn the laws pertaining to those mitzvahs. And unless she follows a guidebook (a book on Jewish law), how will she to learn the laws and keep the mitzvahs correctly?
It is especially important for her to know laws that apply specifically to women, as well as those in which women play a central role, like keeping kosher or the laws of modesty.
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- Another kind of Torah study that is important for women is studying the spiritual aspects of the Torah Studying Kabbalah and Chassidism helps a person reach new levels of awe in God. It helps them become more sincere in keeping mitzvahs, and develop a better, truer, holier outlook on life. Studying the spiritual aspects of Torah will also enable women to feel love and awe for God – mitzvahs that she is obligated to keep and which she cannot keep without in-depth study of the Torah’s spiritual teachings.
- Additionally, when a woman encourages her husband and sons – who are obligated to engage in continuous, intensive Torah study – to learn Torah, or even when she takes on some of their responsibilities so that they can spend time learning, she plays an integral part in their mitzvah.
In the past, women’s Torah study (beyond what is described above), was not widely accepted, and was even prohibited. Comprehensive Torah study – learning the entirety of Jewish law – was solely a male’s domain.
Today, times have changed and so has Torah study for women. Torah study is now an integral part of a Jewish woman’s day. This is not because we decided to break the Torah’s rule against encouraging women to study, rather because in our generation, the Torah itself encourages women to study Torah (see the gray boxes for the reasons behind this).
That is why many schools today give girls a broad, inclusive Torah education rather than teaching only subjects that women are obligated to learn.
Today, Torah classes and study groups for women are available almost everywhere and are definitely worthwhile.
The world won’t end if your husband takes care of the kids for one night…
Question: What caused such a dramatic shift in Judaism’s view on women’s Torah study?
Answer: In the past, when the atmosphere in the Jewish home was full of holiness and awe of God, girls learned at home from their mothers and grandmothers, and only what the Torah deemed appropriate. They were never exposed to concepts and ideas averse to the way of Torah. Today, the Jewish home as a spiritual greenhouse where children grow up undisturbed by the outside world is virtually nonexistent. Today, Torah values are not the only values that women are exposed to. The Torah’s ideas are seen as restrictions, limitations that make life harder something that stems from too much materialism, from lives that lack spirituality, and we must find ways to strengthen girls’ spirits. We cannot rely on the home as a greenhouse it is now too weak.
The solution to this, among others, is to teach her Torah. Torah study on any topic will give her a true understanding of Judaism. It will expose her to the holiness, purity, and beauty of Judaism, and help her grow up as an observant Jewish woman even in such a permissive time. Furthermore, as a mother (potentially or at present), she is the one who creates the atmosphere in the home, who imbues it with spirit both for her husband (even if he won’t admit it)… and for her children. Her Torah study influences the atmosphere and the life that takes place in the home as a whole.
And another thing. Women today are educated, they have the same skills for success in the modern world as men. Their achievements are magnificent on every level. Why should a woman not advance in Torah study as she does in any other discipline? Why should Torah be different?
There is absolutely no reason why women should not take part in Torah study.
Here too we learn how important Torah study is for women as well as men.
Teaching Torah to your children, influencing the spirit of the home
It is the father’s obligation to teach his children Torah, but a mother’s role in her children’s education is not insignificant – she has a greater capacity to teach than a father does, and thus she has an “unofficial” obligation to do so. For further details about raising children see Yahaduton: Raising Jewish Children.
