Women's Education

When I lived in Israel, I met a a neighbor's wife on a bus going from the Beit El settlement, where we lived, to Jerusalem. I asked her what she was going to do in Jerusalem. She informed me that she was taking a course to become a "to'entet"; a lawyer in the rabbinic court system. She further told me that her course, besides being practical, was also an eye opener, She had gone through religious schooling all of her life, but only now understood how Judaism works. I immediately grasped her meaning. Girls and women are usually taught a very black-and-white Judaism. Do this, don't do that. The fact is that men's Yeshiva classes analyse and discuss rabbinic opinions. They understand that almost nothing in Judaism or halachah is simple. They are taught how to sift through information, and arrive at conclusions. This is true not only in halachah (Jewish Law) but also Hashkafah (thought, philosophy). RAMBAM's concept of the Mashiach, for example, bears little resemblance to that of RASHI. Men are taught that. Women and girls are generally taught "this is the Torah's view". In my opinion, besides this being a patronizing (and paternalistic!) approach, this robs women of the ability to analyze things for themselves, and robs the Jewish community of women's talents, and women's unique thought processes. We must remember that women's organized Torah education only began a little over a hundred years ago. It is still finding its way. Some schools have implemented the advice of Rabbi J.B. Soloveichik to give girls a thorough background in all areas of Torah. Most are still reticent to do so. On the other hand, we must be careful not to throw out the baby with the bath water. Many feminist Jewish groups seek to undermine rabbinic authority, and insist that the Torah be interpreted by each individual; whether or not they have a grasp of the halachic process! There must be a middle ground that is inclusive of women, teaches them the facts the same way that the men are taught, or else we risk drive them away into bizarre cult-like behavior. I hope and pray that solutions will be found.