Terrific! When actually wasn’t it because with Jews a persecuted minority everywhere, there was greater certainty if you traced descent from the mother?”
“Oh, I see what you mean. Yes, I imagine that could be the rationale, he admitted.
A frosty smile flitted across her face. “And isn’t it true that women have no place in the Jewish religion down to the present day? In some synagogues they even hide them behind a curtain up in the balcony.”
“That’s only in strictly Orthodox congregations.”
“In our synagogue they sit on one side.” Lillian Dushkin said.
“And they’re not allowed to take part in the service,” Ms. Goldstein added.
“That’s not true.” said the rabbi. “The service is a recitation of a series of prayers. Women who attend the service recite the prayers along with the men.”
“Big deal.” said Lillian Dushkin. “They’re never called up to read or anything.”
“They are, in Reform temples.” the rabbi corrected her.
“I know for a fact that the husband can divorce the wife by just sending her a letter.” said Mark Leventhal, not because he had any great sympathy for the women but because they appeared to have their teacher at a disadvantage. “And she can’t divorce him at all.”
“And if her husband dies, she has to marry her brother-in-law,” said Mazonson, for the same reason.
The rabbi held up both hands to bring them to order. “This is a very good example, he said, “of the danger of discussions based on ignorance and limited knowledge.”
They quieted down.
“In the first place, he went on. “our religion is not ceremonial like the Catholic religion, for example, which requires a consecrated holy place, the church, to conduct its business, the center of our religious practice is more the home than the synagogue, and in the home, the woman certainly shares in whatever ceremonial there is, she prepares the house for the Sabbath, and it is she who blesses the Sabbath candles.”
Ms. Goldstein whispered something to the girl in the next seat, she laughed.
“We are not immune to the influences around us.” said the rabbi, raising his voice slightly. “All through recorded history, society has been patriarchal, but the Ten Commandments call for honoring thy father and mother, and father and mother is the way we Normally refer to them, rather than by that weak collective parents. Even in biblical times a Jewish woman could not be forced to marry against her choice, the penalty for adultery was death, but both parties were equally punished. When a woman married she retained title to her property, and when she was divorced, she not only took it with her but also received a large sum which was stipulated in advance in the marriage contract in the event of a divorce.”
“But a man could divorce his wife anytime he wanted to.” said Leventhal. “and she couldn’t ever.”
“No, the mechanics of the transaction called for the husband to give the divorce and the wife to receive it. But he has to go to a rabbinical court and convince them before they will give him a get, a bill of divorcement, the wife can do the same, the difference is that the rabbinical court then orders the husband to give the divorce.”
“What if he don’t want to?”
“Then the rabbis can apply whatever sanctions they have. In modern Israel, they put him in jail until he agrees. I might add that even by contemporary standards, the grounds for divorce were quite liberal, more so than they are in most Western countries today, there was divorce by mutual consent, for example, the woman could also claim a divorce if her husband was physically repulsive to her or if he failed in his duty toward her which was laid down as the basis for married life. ‘Let a man honor his wife more than himself, and love her as he loves himself No. Ms. Goldstein. I see nothing in the divorce laws that would suggest second class status for women.”
“How about a widow having to
“Oh, I see what you mean. Yes, I imagine that could be the rationale, he admitted.
A frosty smile flitted across her face. “And isn’t it true that women have no place in the Jewish religion down to the present day? In some synagogues they even hide them behind a curtain up in the balcony.”
“That’s only in strictly Orthodox congregations.”
“In our synagogue they sit on one side.” Lillian Dushkin said.
“And they’re not allowed to take part in the service,” Ms. Goldstein added.
“That’s not true.” said the rabbi. “The service is a recitation of a series of prayers. Women who attend the service recite the prayers along with the men.”
“Big deal.” said Lillian Dushkin. “They’re never called up to read or anything.”
“They are, in Reform temples.” the rabbi corrected her.
“I know for a fact that the husband can divorce the wife by just sending her a letter.” said Mark Leventhal, not because he had any great sympathy for the women but because they appeared to have their teacher at a disadvantage. “And she can’t divorce him at all.”
“And if her husband dies, she has to marry her brother-in-law,” said Mazonson, for the same reason.
The rabbi held up both hands to bring them to order. “This is a very good example, he said, “of the danger of discussions based on ignorance and limited knowledge.”
They quieted down.
“In the first place, he went on. “our religion is not ceremonial like the Catholic religion, for example, which requires a consecrated holy place, the church, to conduct its business, the center of our religious practice is more the home than the synagogue, and in the home, the woman certainly shares in whatever ceremonial there is, she prepares the house for the Sabbath, and it is she who blesses the Sabbath candles.”
Ms. Goldstein whispered something to the girl in the next seat, she laughed.
“We are not immune to the influences around us.” said the rabbi, raising his voice slightly. “All through recorded history, society has been patriarchal, but the Ten Commandments call for honoring thy father and mother, and father and mother is the way we Normally refer to them, rather than by that weak collective parents. Even in biblical times a Jewish woman could not be forced to marry against her choice, the penalty for adultery was death, but both parties were equally punished. When a woman married she retained title to her property, and when she was divorced, she not only took it with her but also received a large sum which was stipulated in advance in the marriage contract in the event of a divorce.”
“But a man could divorce his wife anytime he wanted to.” said Leventhal. “and she couldn’t ever.”
“No, the mechanics of the transaction called for the husband to give the divorce and the wife to receive it. But he has to go to a rabbinical court and convince them before they will give him a get, a bill of divorcement, the wife can do the same, the difference is that the rabbinical court then orders the husband to give the divorce.”
“What if he don’t want to?”
“Then the rabbis can apply whatever sanctions they have. In modern Israel, they put him in jail until he agrees. I might add that even by contemporary standards, the grounds for divorce were quite liberal, more so than they are in most Western countries today, there was divorce by mutual consent, for example, the woman could also claim a divorce if her husband was physically repulsive to her or if he failed in his duty toward her which was laid down as the basis for married life. ‘Let a man honor his wife more than himself, and love her as he loves himself No. Ms. Goldstein. I see nothing in the divorce laws that would suggest second class status for women.”
“How about a widow having to
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