Q:
Should a woman spend her spare time sewing and similar activities or saying Tehillim?
A:
I recommend a great deal of sewing and a little bit of Tehillim. And I’ll explain why.
Tehillim is effective only when it’s accompanied by a certain concentration of the mind. Just to mutter, to mumble the words is a very small accomplishment.
Now, when somebody wants to concentrate and think and reflect on the service of Hashem or in the noble ideals of Tehillim, very good! But how long can you keep it up?
And therefore, the rest of the time should be spent on something constructive and healthful. And doing a creative thing like sewing, making dresses or clothing for the members of the family, it’s something that’s profitable – it costs a lot of money to buy things and some women are expert fashioners of garments – and it gives satisfaction to them too. Of course there are other forms of domestic arts that women could cultivate.
Now, I’m not saying women should not read seforim. If they’re capable of reading and profiting by seforim, why not? But merely to say Tehillim all the time is impossible because even the most sincere and educated person tires of it after a while.
And therefore, as the question was posed, if there’s a choice between the two, I’d say more sewing and less Tehillim.
TAPE # 553 (May 1985)
