Roles of men and women, Judaism.

• Many of the highest ideals of Jewish religion are realised in the home rather than the synagogue. - The home is a very important place for Judaism.
• Family is the foundation of Judaism - as a strong family unit keeps religion and community strong. (contrast to Christianity which have nuns and monks)
• In a home, father is the 'priest' and the table the 'alter'.
• Each parent has carefully defined roles.

• 'Be fruitful and multiply' (Genesis) is said to be the first mitzvot given by God to mankind.
• God said 'it is not good that a man should be alone. I will make a helper fit for him'.
• Talmud praises marriage as giving 'joy, love and harmony'.
• Also a Talmudic duty to find partners for your children.

matchmaker agencies

• Ketubah
• It states husband's obligations to his wife, and the amount of money he will pay her in the event of a divorse. (built into the wedding the possibility that there might be a divorse)

Men are seen as more prone to bad influences, as they are 'out in the world', so the continuous stufy of Torah reminds Jewish man that he is a member of a Holy Nation and has to conduct himself well in all areas of life.

"And you shall teach them to your sons to speak about them" (Deuteronomy 11)

• Wear tefillin in weekday services.
• Pray 3 times in a minyan.
• 4 times on Sabbath and 5 on Yom Kippur.
• Required to follow all 613 mitzvot.
• Must study Torah until he dies (Deuteronomy 4).

• Jewish home is a miniture temple, and the father the 'priest', the mother 'priestess', and the table the 'alter'.
• It is where children can grow up under protection and guidance, and where Jewish religion can be practiced and transmitted from generation to generation.
• Many of the most important of Judaism take place in the home. (eg. Sabbath, Sukkot).

• Because she has other duties, such as looking after the children, which take up time, and thus following some mitzvot would be difficult. (eg. not required to pray in morning, because she has to pay attention to children).
• Also some talmudic rabbis believe that women are naturally more spiritual than men, and therefore require less demanding religious mitzvot.

• For all positive time bound commandements men are liable and women are exempt.
• But all positive commendments not limited to specific time, are binding to both.
• Women are relieved of obligations of putting Talit or Tefillin, and of praying at fixed times, but still have to pray once a day, preferably shema or amidah, at any time.

• Nerot: lighting candles to mark beginning of Sabbath or holiday. (rabbinical mitzvah, rather than from Torah).
• Challah: separating portion of dough from bread before baking it (in Numbers). Because it instructs to leave some aside for the Temple priest.
• Niddah: Purity laws. Immersion in a mikvah after the end of the menstrual period.

Modesty laws - Tznius - so to help men not get the 'evil inclination'.

• Responsibility for the day to day running of the home, in some cases family business too, to free her husband to study the Torah.
• Required to keep a kosher home.
• Bring up and teach the children how to run a Jewish kosher household, how to plan for festivals, the modesty laws, and family purity.
• General responsibility of ensuring that all that goes on in the home is expressive of Judaism.

• Only a man can issue the divorse certificate (the get). Thus if a man deserts or just refuses to issue a get, the woman becomes an agunah (a 'chained woman') and cannot remarry under Jewish law, or her children would become 'mamzer' (illegitimate).
• In Torah, man could divorse a woman for any particular or no reason. The woman's consent is not needed. Later, rabbinical authorities gave women rights by not allowing a man to divorse without wife's consent.

• A woman who is on her period.
• This label remains until the relevant rituals are fully completed.
• Niddah also used to describe the whole process of ritual purity for women (eg. mikvah).

• Deepening of sexual relations in marriage.
• Creating and cherishing of friendship between spouses.
• Protection of women.
• Reducing objectification.
• Personal and spiritual experience for women.
• Opporutnity for the woman to be empowered and take control of their faith.

• Degrading women.
• Treating them as a subordinate gender.
• Can be seen to be treating women as objects of desire, pleasure of men.
• Sexually restricting women
• Alienating mentruating women.
• Taboo of menstrual blood.
• Gender stereotyping (eg. regular impurity of women.)

Leviticus

Separation.

"If you have sex with a woman during her monthly period, both you and the woman will be cut off from the people of Israel." (Leviticus 20)

In Tashlich, 'cast off', on Rosh Hashanah where Jews gather at a body of water and toss bread crubs in a symbolic gesture of self-purification.

• Menstral blood represents death (of potential foetus etc) then, mikveh water, is the antithesis (opposite) of mentruation, and therefore life-giving.
• Niddah - prohibition of sexual relations, which is potentially life-giving.
• Also, the niddah laws and the separation and prohibition of sexual union and potential for life, gives both husband and wife a higher appreciation of life and death.

• The separation between the sacred and the profane is an identifying element of Judaism.
• eg. Sabbath is sacred, rest of week is profane.
• Woman at time of niddah is profane and becomes sacred again through mikveh.
• Profanity of sin is removed at Yom Kippur
• Profanity of food eaten by gentiles is negated by kosher food laws.

• Because it turns the most trivial, mundane acts, such as eating and getting dressed, into acts of relgious significance.
• By doing so, it makes Jews closer to God. ("I am the Lord your God, therefore sanctify yourselves and be holy, for I am holy" Leviticus 11)

Chukim