In the Talmud, we have many pro and anti feminist statements. What I found remarkable is the fact that although some rather disparaging remarks about women are made, the rebuttals of some of the rabbis' wives are also quoted. One story, however, has caused much of the negative feelings towards women. It is a virtual certainty that the story is false. Rabbi Meir, a great second century rabbi, was married to Beruriah, the daughter of Rabbi Hananiah Ben Teradion, himself a great scholar, and one of the rabbis martyred (burned alive) under the Roman persecution. Beruriah was no ordinary woman. She was a great scholar, presumably taught by her illustrious father. She would argue halachah with the rabbis, who often would concede to her superior knowledge. There is an enigmatic statement in the Talmud (Avodah Zarah 18b), that Rabbi Meir had to flee to Asia Minor (Turkey) because of the incident with Beruriah. We are nowhere told in any Talmudic source what was the nature of the "incident". There appeared in about 800 ce, a scurrilous work called "The Alphabet of Ben Sira". It was recognized by Sepharadic rabbis as a brutal satire of Judaism. (RAMBAM wrote a scathing denunciation of the work), and is recognized as such by all modern researchers. The medieval Ashkenazic rabbis, however, accepted it at face value. The book is full of "X Rated" stories about both Biblical and rabbinic figures. Ben Sira was a real enough person, who lived in the second century BCE. He wrote a book, known either as "The Wisdom of Ben Sira" or "Ecclesiasticus". It is a book of wisdom. The rabbis regarded it highly, and often quoted it, but did not regard it as Scripture. It was, however, accepted as Holy Writ by the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. In the book "the Alphabet of Ben Sira", he is moved back to the sixth century BCE, and is the accidental offspring of the prophet Jeremiah and his daughter, who, unfortunately, bather in the same pool as her father. (!!!). (Despite the fact that G-d orders Jeremiah not to marry or have children).One of the many horrible stories in this work, "fills in the gaps" on the "incident with Beruriah". We are told that the rabbis opposed Beruriah's learning, and taunted her with the statement of "Women have weak daat". Rabbi Meir rebuked her for her "uppityness",and warned her that she would eventually be brought to shame for not accepting the words of the rabbis. The rabbis who opposed her, chose a young scholar to seduce her. After "many days" of entreaty, she finally agreed to commit adultery. The young rabbi then said "Aha! Women have weak daat!", whereupon she killed herself, and Rabbi Meir had to flee in shame. The Ashkenazi Talmudic commentators somehow accepted this story, and included it in their commentaries. It has since become a part of the Jewish consciousness in many circles (although rejected by the Sepharadic rabbis. Even many Ashkenazic rabbis named their daughters Beruriah, to show their contempt for the story.) But the message sank in; women, no matter how pious and learned, can never be trusted. On the contrary, their learning will make them too devious and sure of themselves; so better let them remain ignorant. Somehow, no one raised the question of how a male rabbi would respond to repeated seduction attempts, or how holy rabbis could possibly justify bringing a righteous woman to shame, just to prove a point. In Ashkenazi consciousness, one does not question the writings of a great rabbi, especially a Talmudic commentator. But RAMBAM (along with most Sepharadic rabbis), who was also a great rabbi, totally rejected the story as a fabrication, and the book as a forgery. Before any discussion of women's place in Judaism, I believe this story must be dealt with honestly. Any "principles" derived from the story must be reexamined. (One famous twentieth century rabbi even relied on this story in issuing a very controversial halachic opinion concerning artificial insemination). This has also been a factor in many rabbis' hesitancy to convert women.In my opinion, we owe women a huge apology, for this and many other injustices. In my next post, I will deal with how the Conservative movement attempted to deal with these issues, but whose sloppy handling,, brought itself from being the largest Jewish denomination in America, to the smallest.
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