Q:
Why shouldn’t a mother be able to learn Gemara?
A:
Gemara takes up a big part of your spare time, and women can’t afford to give all that time, because women work all day long. A man’s work is from sunrise to sunset usually, or from nine to five, but a woman’s work is around the clock; they have to raise families and they can’t afford to sit at the Gemara – otherwise, what would happen to the family? And therefore, whenever they get a chance, when they get a little crack in their schedule, they can get in something if they wish; there are plenty of good things to learn. But Gemara, anybody who knows anything about Gemara knows that it takes up a great deal of your time.
And therefore, Hakadosh Baruch Hu says to the women: “You will get reward in the Next World for having beautiful children with good derech eretz, and frum, and also as many as you can have.” And Hakadosh Baruch Hu will reward you; you will be a millionaire in the next world. Your husband is going to be jealous of you.
It says גְּדוֹלָה הַבְטָחָה שֶׁהִבְטִיחוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְנָשִׁים יוֹתֵר מִן הָאֲנָשִׁים – How much greater is the promise that Hashem gave to women, even more than to men (Brachos 17a). He promises it to them more easily; they go to Gan Eden more readily than men. Of course, you have the difficulties of raising your family in a kosher way, but it’s not the problem of a man. Men have various kinds of problems; they fight sometimes over kavod – glory, who is a bigger lamdan. Oh yes! Competition in business, competition in the beis hakneses. Each one wants to be elected president and gabbai; all kinds of things happen among men. But the women are excused from that kind of competitive life.
It’s not so easy to be a man; it comes with a lot of baggage. Like I always say, the only reason we make the bracha of shelo asani isha, is because a man has pockets in his suit; women don’t have pockets. It’s such a blessing to have pockets! So when you have pockets, that’s why you can say shelo asani isha – “Baruch Hashem, I have pockets!” But women, mothers, can more readily have a contentment-filled ride through existence and be even more successful than men. That’s גְּדוֹלָה הַבְטָחָה שֶׁהִבְטִיחָן הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְנָשִׁים יוֹתֵר מִן הָאֲנָשִׁים – How much greater is the promise that Hashem gave to women, even more than to men. She’ll be a very happy woman in Gan Eden.
January 1994
