Judaism & Gender

(27) And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. (28) And God blessed them; and God said unto them: ‘Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth.’

(21) And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the place with flesh instead thereof. (22) And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from the man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. (23) And the man said: ‘This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.’ (24) Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh. (25) And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

(7) [With regard to] all commandments of the son which are [incumbent] upon the father, men are obligated, and women are exempt. And [with regard to] all commandments of the father which are [incumbent] upon the son, both men and women are obligated. And [with regard to] every positive commandment that is time-dependent, men are obligated and women are exempt. And [with regard to] every positive commandment which is not time-dependent, both men and women are obligated. And [with regard to] every negative commandment, whether it is time-dependent or it is not time-dependent, both men and women are obligated, except for: "You shall not round off [the corners of your head]" (Leviticus 19:27), "You shall not destroy [the corners of your beard]" (ibid.), and "You shall not become ritually impure for the dead" (Leviticus 21:1).

(8) What distinguishes a man from a woman? A man lets loose his hair and rips his clothes [as a metzora], and a woman does not let loose her hair or rip her clothes. A man makes a vow rendering his son a Nazirite, and a woman cannot make a vow rendering her son a Nazirite. A man shaves concerning the Nazirite status of his father [if his father dies], and a woman does not shave concerning the Nazirite status of her father. A man sells his daughter, and a woman cannot sell her daughter. A man betroths his daughter, and a woman cannot betroth her daughter. A man is stoned naked, and a woman is not stoned naked. A man is hanged [after execution], and a woman is not hanged. A man is sold for his theft [i.e., to repay it], a woman is not sold for her theft.

(9) Men- Blessed are you, Hashem, our G-d and king of the world, who did not make me a woman.

(19) And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be in her impurity seven days; and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even. (20) And every thing that she lieth upon in her impurity shall be unclean; every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean. (21) And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. (22) And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sitteth upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. (23) And if he be on the bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even. (24) And if any man lie with her, and her impurity be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean. .

(1) When a man taketh a wife, and marrieth her, then it cometh to pass, if she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some unseemly thing in her, that he writeth her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house, (2) and she departeth out of his house, and goeth and becometh another man’s wife,

(10) And these [are the cases in which] they compel him to divorce [his wife]: one stricken with leprosy; or one afflicted with polypus; or one who gathers dogs’ dung; or a copper-smelter; or a tanner. Whether [these circumstances] existed before they were married or after they were married. And with regard to them all, Rabbi Meir said, "Even though he stipulated with her [in advance], she may say, 'I thought I could accept it, but now [I realize that] I cannot.'" But the Sages say, "She must accept it against her will, except for one smitten with leprosy, because [intercourse will] enervate him. It happened at Sidon, that a certain tanner died, and he had a brother who [also] was a tanner. The Sages said, "[The wife] may say, 'For your brother I could accept it, but for you I cannot accept it.'"