Q:
If studying Torah is a mitzvah for men, what is the duty for women? To what extent should a woman strive for Torah knowledge? And in which aspect of Torah?
A:
Women have so much to study that if they went into a kollel and studied day and night for sixty, seventy years they wouldn’t be finished with what they are obligated to know. You hear that? And that’s not what I say.
Only, what can you do? Men, do they do everything that they have to do? Do they study all they have to know? They have excuses too. So women have better excuses. A man has more opportunities than a woman so he has less excuses. But there is no question that there is plenty for women to learn.
Now to what extent? The extent should be the sky’s the limit.
Which aspect of Torah? All aspects of Torah. She leaves out Gemara for a reason. There’s a reason why a woman doesn’t study Gemara and the reason is very simple. It’s not complicated at all. Because it’s an ideal among us that men and women should not fraternize. The healthiest thing is when women fraternize with women and men with men. But when a woman becomes very conversant with Gemara – it’s like somebody told me he saw on a park bench in Flatbush a boy from a certain very modern school who was sitting with a girl and they were learning Gemara together.
Now we know that the Gemara is a prelude for something. Any boy and girl business is just the beginning of something. And therefore why build such a bridge between them? It’s enough. There are plenty of bridges! Too many bridges! So one bridge less. That’s why women should not study Gemara. We don’t want them to mix with men. Men shouldn’t mix with women. But there’s plenty to know and they have work to do.
Of course a woman first of all has to produce a Shas. The Shas is Avramele and Yitzele and Yankele. And not only a Shas of six sedarim. There are many other mesichtos, sixty mesichtos. There is plenty for women to produce.
And her Rishonim and Mefarshim are washing diapers and cooking and all these things are very important commentaries on Torah. That’s her job. If in between she’s able to find a couple of minutes to do something then there’s no reason why she shouldn’t utilize her time.
TAPE # 75 (October 1974)
