Women priests
Joined: May 2002
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Originally posted by SR71BB
oink oink
Variables, and chaotic theory discussions, are not numbers, merely symbols indicating quantities.
oink oink
Variables, and chaotic theory discussions, are not numbers, merely symbols indicating quantities.
There is no concept of quantity without numbers. You can replace numbers with this and that, but you're still representing numbers. You can say a = 2, but that's not disregarding numbers, that's just replacing them. You're still talking about 2, not a.
See what I mean?
Either way, if I am wrong (I could be - I don't know chaotic theory) I hope you get my meaning. Take away the basis for a belief and it's pretty hard to explain that belief. You may be right, but my point is just that it's a lot tougher without numbers...
Fair enough?
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When the Torah talks about creating Adam it concludes "...male and female He created them" (Genesis 1:27). Who's them? The original Adam had moth male and female qualities. Later G-d separated Adam into them - man and woman. Why do it this way instead of the way with the animals, by creating pairs to start with?
"it is not good that man be alone" (Genesis 2:18) Why isn't it good, and why didn't He create two beings to begin with? G-d made Man in His image (Genesis 1:26). IOW, a person should use his/her body to express G-d's image. Since we relate to Him as a Giver, this means that we as humans have the ability to give in many meaningful ways. If a person exists alone they cannot give, since giving must be done on the basis of each individual's unique needs.
Back to the point, why didn't G-d say "let there be woman?" The idea illustrates that man and woman together are a whole. Woman was created from a rib, the inside of Adam. She represents internal power from the rib, and man represents external power.
As for praying obligations, women are not expressly forbidden, but the are exempt from the obligation to pray 3 times a day that men have. There is a highly structured framework to the halacha of praying in terms of time and place, and this is necessary for man's spiritual growth. Women are not bound by the external structure as a means to develop their gifts of nurture, insight and internal power.
This same framework is what exempts women from leading prayer, it puts them in a situation of external power which is not the best use of their gifts. This is not to say women can't study or teach or whatever, there are many women in Jewish history that are famous for that, Devorah being the one at the top of my mind. Just that it is not their priority as it is for men. It is still important, and most of the halacha of prayer come from a woman, Chana (who gave birth to Samuel. see I Samuel 1:11,1:13,1:20,2:1-10). Her (internal) insight lead to the (external) structure for men to follow.
Separation in shul - this has to do with tzniut, or modesty. The modesty is not excessive, it is meant to keep men focused on the internal strengths of the woman rather than her appearance. The separation in synagogue is to enforce that modesty further. This is similar to using different dishes and cookware for meat and dairy. The Law states "you shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk." If you used the same dishes, you could accidentally break the Law. So to keep yourself from having an accident, you set limits much further from what could lead to a violation. Same thing with the separation in shul.
"it is not good that man be alone" (Genesis 2:18) Why isn't it good, and why didn't He create two beings to begin with? G-d made Man in His image (Genesis 1:26). IOW, a person should use his/her body to express G-d's image. Since we relate to Him as a Giver, this means that we as humans have the ability to give in many meaningful ways. If a person exists alone they cannot give, since giving must be done on the basis of each individual's unique needs.
Back to the point, why didn't G-d say "let there be woman?" The idea illustrates that man and woman together are a whole. Woman was created from a rib, the inside of Adam. She represents internal power from the rib, and man represents external power.
As for praying obligations, women are not expressly forbidden, but the are exempt from the obligation to pray 3 times a day that men have. There is a highly structured framework to the halacha of praying in terms of time and place, and this is necessary for man's spiritual growth. Women are not bound by the external structure as a means to develop their gifts of nurture, insight and internal power.
This same framework is what exempts women from leading prayer, it puts them in a situation of external power which is not the best use of their gifts. This is not to say women can't study or teach or whatever, there are many women in Jewish history that are famous for that, Devorah being the one at the top of my mind. Just that it is not their priority as it is for men. It is still important, and most of the halacha of prayer come from a woman, Chana (who gave birth to Samuel. see I Samuel 1:11,1:13,1:20,2:1-10). Her (internal) insight lead to the (external) structure for men to follow.
Separation in shul - this has to do with tzniut, or modesty. The modesty is not excessive, it is meant to keep men focused on the internal strengths of the woman rather than her appearance. The separation in synagogue is to enforce that modesty further. This is similar to using different dishes and cookware for meat and dairy. The Law states "you shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk." If you used the same dishes, you could accidentally break the Law. So to keep yourself from having an accident, you set limits much further from what could lead to a violation. Same thing with the separation in shul.