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Woman in Judaism

שו”תCategory: philosophyWoman in Judaism
asked 8 years ago

Hello Rabbi.
A. Does Judaism have anything to say about the feminist movement? Jewish values ​​regarding the status of women that are relevant to today’s reality?
on. What do you think about feminism? (The good and the bad).


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0 Answers
מיכי Staff answered 8 years ago
A. In general, I don’t think there is such a thing as “Judaism saying something about something.” Halacha has its own conceptual framework, and there you can find specific statements, but usually not ideology and general principles. These are usually formed by people with their own opinions and based on various pieces of evidence (usually quite weak). Feminism is no exception to this rule. B. Feminism is also a catch-all name for several shades. As a rule, if there is such a need, then it is certainly legitimate to act for it. In some things I personally identify very much, in others less so. The aspiration for everything at any cost is harmful nonsense. The assumption that men and women are equal or categorically different is also nonsense (and no, there is no contradiction here). What is reasonable to base such a movement on is the right of a woman to act and behave according to her understanding and skills, without regard to generalizations, more or less correct. And, precisely, not because all generalizations are incorrect, but because they are irrelevant. There is no reason to make a decision about a particular woman because of a generalization (even correct) about all women.

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אמיר replied 8 years ago

Why is the assumption that men and women are either equal or categorically different also nonsense?

מיכי Staff replied 8 years ago

I'm not talking physiologically. Character traits are so different from person to person and within and between populations that it is impossible to talk about categorical differences (which is true for each individual, as with physiological changes). It is impossible to say that women are categorically more emotional, nor that men are categorically more intellectual. Even if this is statistically true (I think so), it is clear that there are quite a few exceptions. Therefore, categorical talk in these areas is nonsense.

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