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Halachic Illuminations Special Events Shiurim Announcements
ParashatParashat VayechiShemot
A Woman Scholarly in Torah This week we will be finishing the first of the Chamisha Chum- In the previous Halachot we have discussed the laws of rising for an elderly man shei Torah with Parashat VaYechi. The death of Ya- or woman as well as the obligation to rise before a Torah scholar and the wife of kov Avinu not only marks the end of Sefer Beresheit, but also a Torah scholar. the end of an era. In the previous Halacha we have explained that Maran Rabbeinu Ovadia Yosef zt”l writes that a female student must show honor to her teacher from whom she has studied Torah in the form of rising for her and not calling her by The Ramban, in his introduction to Sefer Shemot explains: name, for the reason why one is obligated to honor one’s rabbi is because “he "Hishlim hakatuv Sefer Beresheit shehu sefer yetzira bechidush brings one into the World to Come” (Mishnah, Baba Metzia 33a) and the same haolam, veyetzirat kol notzar, uvemikrai haavot shehem k'inyan would apply to a teacher who educates her students in the path of Torah, Mus- sar, and modesty and also brings them into the World to Come. Although the yetzira lezar'am - the Torah completes Sefer Beresheit which is teacher receives a salary for doing so, this does not matter at all, for the stu- the account of creation as well as a record of all that happened dent’s obligation to honor the rabbi/teacher is not because the rabbi is not nec- to the forefathers who are a form of creation to their seed." In so essarily because the rabbi is performing a Mitzvah by teaching him; rather, it is many ways, the triumphs and challenges Yakov Avinu serve as because the rabbi teaches the student the ways of our holy Torah and has done the student the service of bringing him into the World to Come. Thus, it does not a moral guide and, as the Ramban terms, a yetzira, a creation matter whether the intention of the rabbi/teacher at the time they were teaching for all generations. was in order to earn money or fulfill the Mitzvah of Torah study by doing so. The same applies to a female teacher in that as long as she is granting her students The Meshech Chochmah observes that twice, first passage into the World to Come, her students are obligated to honor her. Hagaon Rabbeinu Chizkiya di Silwa zt”l (author of the “Peri Chadash”) writes in Parashat Vayetze (28:11-12), and later in Vayigash (56:2), that clearly, one is obligated to rise before a woman who is erudite in Torah the Torah emphasizes that Hakadosh Baruch Hu appears to knowledge just as one is obligated to rise before a male Torah scholar, for alt- Yakov Avinu at night, bemarot halayla. Although Ya- hough a woman is not obligated in the Mitzvah of Torah study (besides for stud- kov Avinu was forced to leave Eretz Yisrael and endure the diffi- ying the laws of the Mitzvot applicable to her) and even if she studies Torah to the extent that she becomes a Torah scholar like a man she would not receive culties of galut, HaKadosh Baruch Hu reassures him, specifically as much reward as a man since she is not obligated to do so, nevertheless, at night, that even becheshkat hagalut (in the darkness of exile) since she is scholarly in Torah knowledge, one must afford her honor because one can experience hashra'at hashechinah- Divine Revelation. of the Torah she possesses. Many Poskim, among them Maran Rabbeinu Ova- There have been many dark periods in the history of the Jewish dia Yosefzt”l, rule likewise. He adds that if she is a woman who is active in influ- encing other women to observe the laws of family purity, Shabbat, Kashrut, and People where we have persevered and emerged stronger and the like and guides them in how to do so, even if she is not as erudite in Torah brighter. How have we survived; how have we thrived? as a male Torah scholar, there is nevertheless an obligation to honor her, as the Gemara (Kiddushin 33b) states that one must rise before a person of means. Although all of the avot (forefathers) engaged in tefilla, Ya- The Geonim explain that a “person of means” refers to one who has a good eye and engages in charity, public projects, and possesses excellent character traits. kov Avinu instituted Tefilat Arvit, the evening prayer. He taught Even if such an individual is not so scholarly in Torah, one must nevertheless us the appropriateness of tefilla when one is surrounded by rise before him as Maran Ha’Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah, Chapter 244) rules. darkness. The Meshech Chochmah explains that especially dur- The same applies to a woman of means and one must rise before her as well. ing galut, one must embrace darchei ha'avot, the paths and pri- Regarding a woman who is scholarly in Torah, we should point out that there were indeed several great female Torah scholars throughout Jewish history, orities of our forefathers. Just as a korban can only continue to such as our holy matriarchs, especially our matriarch Sarah who was also a burn at night if it was offered during the day, and just as prophetess, Miriam the prophetess, sister of Moshe and Aharon, Hannah, wife a navi can only merit prophecy in chutz la'aretz if he experienc- of Elkana and mother of Shmuel Ha’Navi, Devorah the prophetess, Hulda, Avi- es nevuah in Eretz Yisrael first, so too our avodat Ha- gail, Queen Esther, and others. Even in later generation there were several well- known scholarly women in the times of the Sages of the Mishnah and Talmud, shem in galut must emulate and embrace derech ha'avot. We such as Beruria, wife of Rabbi Meir (see Pesachim 62b), as well as some in later must follow in the paths and manners of Avraham, Yitzchak, and generations, such as the well-known daughter of Rashi, who, in his later years, Yakov, as outlined throughout the whole of Sefer Beresheit. wrote and signed on some of Rashi’s halachic responsa. Indeed, in the Respon- sa of Rabbeinu Yaakov Molin (Maharil, Chapter 75), his wife, Rabbanit Leah, is mentioned as having corresponded with several Torah luminaries of the genera- The Zohar (vol. 1, 146b) comments "Al sheloshah devarim hao- tion about a certain halachic matter. lam omed: Hatorah - da Yakov, haavodah - da Yitzchak, gemilut Furthermore, Maran Ha’Chida writes in his Sefer Ma’agal Tov (page 61) about chassadim - da Avraham." Each of the avot represents a pillar his wife, Rabbanit Rachel, and praises her to the extent that he writes that she on which the world stands. (as we also see in Pirkei Avot). was unique in the generation among women for her extreme brilliance and intel- lect. There were other unique women who also merited great knowledge in To- The middah of Yakov Avinu is Torah. rah, such as the wife of Rabbi Yaakov of Kurdistan, Rosh Yeshivat Mosul in Iraq, who would teach Torah to students while seated behind a partition. Even in May we, as descendants of Yakov Avinu, embrace this legacy, the generation before ours there were such women learned in Torah, such as enabling the light of Torah to permeate the darkness the mother of Hagaon Harav Yehuda Tzadka zt”l who would actively participate in the Halacha lectures of Maran zt”l and would ask questions and offer solu- of galut, and always remember during these trying and difficult tions with great wisdom. These were wise and righteous women who were ex- times, that only through the Torah will we prevail and emerge tremely modest in the way they dressed and acted and in the merit of such right- stronger and brighter. eous women will the Jewish nation eventually be redeemed from exile (Sotah 11b). (It is well-known that nowadays, there are many men who present them- selves to be Torah scholars when they are actually devoid of any Torah knowledge and fear of Heaven. Similarly, there are women who, unfortunately, Shabbat Shalom, wish to equate men and women in every which way and in doing so, completely Rabbi Yehuda Moses distort the most basic tenets of the Torah. Every individual possesses the choice Rav HaKehillah/Senior Rabbi to seek out genuine Torah scholars who cleave to the word of Hashem and follow such individuals.