Shua Friedman, National Ambassador of Education, Southwest NCSY
Practicing Judaism, like every religion, makes us ask very important questions about life, Torah, and everything that surrounds it. “Do the Torah and science contradict themselves?” “How will Moshiach come?” “Does G-d really need our prayers?” A very common question that is being asked in our time, is what is the role of women in Judaism?
In the beginning of parshas Bo on 10:11, Pharoah says to Moshe,
לְכֽוּ־נָ֤א הַגְּבָרִים֙ וְעִבְד֣וּ אֶת־יְהוָ֔ה כִּ֥י אֹתָ֖הּ אַתֶּ֣ם מְבַקְשִׁ֑ים — Go now and let the men serve your G-d, because that is what you desire.
This is strange. If we look back at Moshe’s request to Pharaoh, Moshe said,
בִּנְעָרֵ֥ינוּ וּבִזְקֵנֵ֖ינוּ נֵלֵ֑ךְ בְּבָנֵ֨ינוּ וּבִבְנוֹתֵ֜נוּ– We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters…
Moshe was asking Pharaoh for all of Bnei Yisrael, men, women, and children alike, to “go out and pray.” Rabbeinu Bechaye explains, that this event was actually the receiving of the Torah from Har Sinai. Pharaoh does not even hear this though, and completely disregards what Moshe said, and simply says “Go and let the men serve.” How could it be that the leader of such a massive empire, a very intelligent man, can misunderstand such a simple sentence?
Pharaoh was assuming that when Moshe said “everyone,” he was really just trying to bargain for what he really wanted: for the men to go and pray. Pharoah assumed that praying was only necessary for the men to do, because that was the case for the Egyptians. Moshe said, on the other hand, “Our sons and daughters!” The message being- Judaism is for everyone.
Proper Torah observance can not just be done with men, and it can not just be done with women either. Judaism preaches unity, and unity includes everyone. It does not matter where you come from, what type of Jew you describe yourself as, or what gender you are. The Torah was given to all of Bnei Yisrael. It is important to be aware, however, that we are all different people created to have different roles in Bnei Yisrael. In order to create inspiring and Torah observant communities, it is crucial that each and every different role come together for the sake of both Torah, and for ourselves.
Good Shabbos!