Quote:
Originally Posted by Mrs. Elizabeth Johnson
Lovely Sister Basilissa summed it up quite well! Go read your KJV Bible, Gordon, and notice that God has intended women to be helpmeets. Therefore, we are not in charge, we are not equal. We HELP men do their jobs, because God created them first and gave MEN dominion over the earth, not women because God knew we women would muck it up and so told us to obey our husbands and have children instead. I hope this helps! Mrs. Elizabeth Johnson
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You've got to be kidding, right? While it's true that you ladies are here to help us out (if you know what I mean), there is no reason for you to live in the 17th century. ALL of you have legal rights to do what you want and be who you want to be. No man has the right to lay a hand on you (and I'll be happy to represent you in court if you want to send the bastard to jail). No one can make you sit home and cook and clean if that's not your choice. As a Jew, I can tell you this:
The position of women is not nearly as lowly as many people think; in fact, the position of women in
halakhah (Jewish Law) that dates back to the biblical period is in many ways better than the position of women under American civil law as recently as a century ago. Many of the important feminist leaders of the 20th century (Gloria Steinem, for example, and Betty Friedan) are Jewish women, and some commentators have suggested that this is no coincidence:
the respect accorded to women in Jewish tradition was a part of their ethnic culture.
In traditional Judaism,
women are for the most part seen as separate but equal. Women's obligations and responsibilities are different from men's, but no less important (in fact, in some ways, women's responsibilities are considered
more important, as we shall see).
The equality of men and women begins at the highest possible level:
G-d. In Judaism, unlike traditional Christianity, G-d has never been viewed as exclusively male or masculine. Judaism has always maintained that G-d has both masculine and feminine qualities. As one
Chasidic rabbi explained it to me, G-d has no body,
no genitalia, therefore the very idea that G-d is male or female is patently absurd. We refer to G-d using masculine terms simply for
convenience's sake, because Hebrew has no neutral gender;
G-d is no more male than a table is.
Both man and woman were created in the image of G-d. According to most Jewish scholars, "man" was created in Gen. 1:27 with dual gender, and was later separated into male and female.
According to traditional Judaism,
women are endowed with a greater degree of "binah" (intuition, understanding, intelligence) than men.
The
rabbis inferred this from the fact that woman was "built" (Gen. 2:22) rather than "formed" (Gen. 2:7), and the Hebrew
root of "build" has the same consonants as the word "binah." It has been said that the matriarchs (Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah) were superior to the
patriarchs (
Abraham,
Isaac and
Jacob) in prophecy. Women did not participate in the idolatry regarding the Golden Calf. See
Rosh Chodesh below. Some traditional sources suggest that women are closer to G-d's ideal than men.
Women have held positions of respect in Judaism since biblical times.
Miriam is considered one of the liberators of the
Children of Israel, along with her brothers
Moses and
Aaron. One of the Judges (Deborah) was a woman. Seven of the 55
prophets of the Bible were women (they are included in the
list of biblical prophets).
The
Ten Commandments require respect for both mother and father. Note that the father comes first in Ex. 20:12, but the mother comes first in Lev. 19:3, and many traditional sources point out that this reversal is intended to show that both parents are equally entitled to honor and reverence.
There were many learned women of note. The
Talmud and later rabbinical writings speak of the wisdom of Berurya, the wife of Rabbi Meir. In several instances, her opinions on
halakhah (Jewish Law) were accepted over those of her male contemporaries. In the
ketubah (marriage contract) of
Rabbi Akiba's son, the wife is obligated to teach the husband
Torah! Many rabbis over the centuries have been known to consult their wives on matters of Jewish law relating to the woman's role, such as laws of
kashrut and
women's cycles. The wife of a
rabbi is referred to as a rebbetzin, practically a title of her own, which should give some idea of her significance in Jewish life.
Sorry to be so verbose, but Jesus Christ, ladies, get out of that apron and take up the mantle G_d intends for you. A strong independent woman is hot in the eyes of most of us guys! Use that sexy body AND that intelligent mind and get out from under the bondage of these ancient cretins who are holding you hostage.
I know at least ONE of you will read this and say, Hey - I'm going to try that! Let me know, ok? I do divorce law too. You'll get the house, the kids (if you want) and a nice check every month. My services will be FREE for the first ten Landover Baptist women who want to be who they were meant to be in this world. After that first ten, we'll talk about reasonable costs.
Yours,
Michael Hezekiah, Esq