Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Explanation of "Has not made me a woman"

"This is not a prayer of thanks that God did not make us heathens, slaves or women. Rather, it calls upon us to contemplate the task which God has imposed upon us by making us free Jewish men, and to pledge ourselves to do justice to this mission. These three aspects of our own status impose upon us duties much more comprehensive than those required of the rest of mankind. And if our women have a smaller number of mitzvot to fulfill than men, they know that the tasks which they must discharge as free Jewish women are no less in accordance with the will and desire of God than are those of their brothers." (Hirsch Siddur, p. 13)

See my recent Hakirah article "Rereading Rav Hirsch on Mitzvos and Gender" for a discussion of how R' Hirsch portrayed men and women as being spiritually equal. Many use him for apologetics, but they do so erroneously in my view.

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