(27) And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
וַיִּבֶן֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֧ים ׀ אֶֽת־הַצֵּלָ֛ע אֲשֶׁר־לָקַ֥ח מִן־הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְאִשָּׁ֑ה וַיְבִאֶ֖הָ אֶל־הָֽאָדָֽם׃
And the LORD God fashioned וַיִּבֶן֩ the rib that He had taken from the man into a woman; and He brought her to the man.
וַיִּיצֶר֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֗ם עָפָר֙ מִן־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה וַיִּפַּ֥ח בְּאַפָּ֖יו נִשְׁמַ֣ת חַיִּ֑ים וַֽיְהִ֥י הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּֽה׃
the LORD God formed וַיִּיצֶר֩ man from the dust of the earth. He blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.
Honor your father and your mother...
You shall each revere his mother and his father...
Our Rabbis have taught: Greater is the promise given by the Holy One, blessed be He, to women than to men; as it is said, "Rise up, ye women that, are at ease, and hear My voice; ye confident daughters, give ear unto My speech" (Is. xxxii. 9).
(ב) רבי יהושע דסכנין בשם ר' לוי אמר: ויבן כתיב, התבונן מאין לבראתה. אמר: לא אברא אותה מן הראש, שלא תהא מיקרת ראשה; לא מן העין, שלא תהא סקרנית; ולא מן האוזן, שלא תהא צייתנית; ולא מן הפה, שלא תהא דברנית; ולא מן הלב, שלא תהא קנתנית; ולא מן היד, שלא תהא ממשמשנית; ולא מן הרגל, שלא תהא פרסנית, אלא ממקום שהוא צנוע באדם, אפי' בשעה שאדם עומד ערום אותו המקום מכוסה. ועל כל אבר ואבר שהיה בורא בה היה אומר לה: תהא אשה צנועה, אשה צנועה, אף על פי כן (משלי א:כה): ותפרעו כל עצתי. לא בראתי אותה מן הראש, והרי היא מיקרת ראשה, שנאמר (ישעיה ג:טז): ותלכנה נטויות גרון. ולא מן העין, והרי היא סקרנית, שנאמר (שם): ומסקרות עינים. ולא מן האוזן, והרי היא צייתנית, שנאמר (בראשית יח:י): ושרה שומעת פתח האהל. ולא מן הלב, והרי היא קנתנית, שנאמר (שם ל:א): ותקנא רחל באחותה. ולא מן היד, והרי היא ממשמשנית, שנאמר (שם לא:יט): ותגנוב רחל את התרפים. ולא מן הרגל, והרי היא פרסנית, שנאמר (שם לד:א): ותצא דינה רב חסדא אמר בינה בה מגורות יותר מן האיש רחבה מלמטה וצרה מלמעלה כדי שתהא מקבלת עוברים:
(2) Rabbi Yehoshua of Sichnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: "And He built" is written; He contemplated from where to create her. He said: I will not create her from the head, lest she be haughty; I will not create her from the eye, lest she be coquettish; I will not create her from the ear, lest she be an eavesdropper; I will not create her from the mouth, lest she be a chatter-box; I will not create her from the heart, lest she be jealous; I will not create her from the hand, lest she be a thief; I will not create her from the leg, lest she be a run-about; rather, I will create create her from the most modest place on a person, as even when a person stands naked this place is covered. And as He created each and every limb of the woman, He would say to her: be a modest woman, be a modest woman! Nevertheless, "And they have disregarded all of my counsel" (Proverbs 1:25). I did not create her from the head, and yet she is haughty, as it says: "And they walk with stretched-forth necks" (Isaiah 3:16). And not from the eye, yet she is coquettish, as it says: "and with wanton eyes" (ibid.). And not from the ear, and yet she is an eavesdropper, as it says: "And Sarah listened from the entrance of the tent" (Genesis 18:10). And not from the heart, and yet she is jealous, as it says: "And Rachel was jealous of her sister" (Genesis 30:1). And not from the hand, and yet she is a thief, as it says: "And Rachel stole the idols" (Genesis 31:19). And not from the leg, and yet she is a run-about, as it says: "And Dinah went out..." (Genesis 34:1).
A man who forbade himself by vow from having intercourse with his wife: Beth Shammai says: two weeks; Beth Hillel says: one week. Students may go away to study Torah, without the permission [of their wives for a period of] thirty days; workers for one week. The times for conjugal duty prescribed in the Torah are: For independent men, every day; For workers, twice a week; For donkey-drivers, once a week; For camel-drivers, once in thirty days; For sailors, once in six months. These are the words of Rabbi Eliezer....Where he did not specify the period it is the opinion of both that he must divorce her immediately and give her the ketubah.
Ultra-Orthodox:
- Women are strongly discouraged from wearing any ritual items.
- Women and men are divided by something called a mechitzah, a divider. Sometimes this can be in the form of a balcony or a separation of front and back -- almost always will have an actual curtain/divider.
- Women are also not allowed to sing or pray aloud in the presence of a man because it could distract him from his prayer or cause him to think impure thoughts.
- Women have different roles than men because of the laws laid out and gendered understandings of Jewish practice/religious life.
- Some will say they are complementary, so have different religious requirements.
- Some will say the differences stem from cultural, social, or historical causes.
- Women exempted from religious study after they learn the basics.
- In the past 100 years or so, education for women has advanced.
- Rules of modesty both in dress and behavior are strict. (No pants, married women cover their head, etc.)
Modern Orthodox Judaism
- Feminism played a large role in advancing education for women.
- A few Modern Orthodox synagogues have women serving as clergy.
- Yeshivat Maharat is the first Orthodox institution to consecrate female clergy.
- 2013 - first women clergy -- called Maharat, not Rabbis
- 2015 - Yaffa Epstein was ordained as Rabba (could be understood as a female version of Rabbi)
- 2015 - Lila Kagedan was ordained with the title of Rabbi
- There has been a strong backlash from the Orthodox community denouncing these programs and women.
- Yeshivat Maharat is the first Orthodox institution to consecrate female clergy.
Conservative Judaism
- Prior to 1973, Conservative Judaism looked a lot like Modern Orthodoxy. (Allowed women to read from Torah, mixed seating, women in leadership (not as clergy))
- 1983 - Jewish Theological Seminary of America voted to ordain women as rabbis and cantors
- Most of the changes that the Conservative movement has put forth are suggestions and not requirements. Each congregation and clergy can decide.
- A person is considered Jewish if their mother is Jewish, not if their father is. -- Matrilineal Descent
Reform Judaism
- steadfast belief in equality of men and women
- ethical aspects influence the ability of women to participate in ritual practices
- 1983 - Accepting patrilineal and matrilineal descent
- God referred to in gender neutral language
- 1972 - First female Rabbi ordained (1935 - first female Rabbi ordained in Germany in private so as not to cause conflict)
- 1850s - before becoming a formal movement, the first synagogue involved in reforming Judaism got rid of separated seating, allowed girls to study with boys, and had mixed choirs.
- 1922 -- innovation of a Bat Mitzvah
"There is no question that in traditional Judaism, the primary role of a woman is as wife and mother, keeper of the household. However, Judaism has great respect for the importance of that role. The Talmud says that when a pious man marries a wicked woman, the man becomes wicked, but when a wicked man marries a pious woman, the man becomes pious. Women are exempted from all positive commandments ("thou shalts" as opposed to "thou shalt nots") that are time-related (that is, commandments that must be performed at a specific time of the day or year), because the woman's duties as wife and mother are so important that they cannot be postponed to fulfill a commandment. After all, a woman cannot be expected to just drop a crying baby when the time comes to perform a commandment.
It is this exemption from certain commandments that has led to the greatest misunderstanding of the role of women in Judaism. First, many people make the mistake of thinking that this exemption is a prohibition. On the contrary, although women are not obligated to perform time-based positive commandments, they are generally permitted to observe such commandments if they choose. Second, because this exemption diminishes the role of women in the synagogue, many people perceive that women have no role in Jewish religious life. This misconception derives from the mistaken assumption that Jewish religious life revolves around the synagogue. It does not; it revolves around the home, where the woman's role is every bit as important as the man's."
http://www.mechon-mamre.org/jewfaq/women.htm