In recent days there has been
much media attention given to the New York-area day schools that have
formalized their policies in favor of allowing female students to don tefiillin
during school hours should they choose to do so. There have been countless articles and
statements made by men and women alike exalting these schools and the young
ladies in their student bodies who are choosing to take on this iconic
mitzvah. Social media has been abuzz
with chatter about the schools, their decisions and the idea of moving the Modern
Orthodox Jewish world into more modern times.
Seemingly, donning tefillin has
become tantamount to burning ones bra in the most halachic of terms. The new face of the suffragette is one with
black leather straps framing her face and a small holy box crowning her head;
but why? What, if anything, about
wearing tefillin makes women feel so much more connected to G-d?
Living in the world today, we in
the Modern Orthodox Jewish Community are faced with many issues which both
challenge and guide us in the further development of our nation. In the United States we live in a world where
the “rights” of humans are many, but do not always coincide with our “rights”
as dictated by Torah law. My rights as
an American, which give me the ability to practice my religion as I see fit,
are the cornerstone to the foundation of this country and I am endlessly
grateful for them. They allow me to be a
practicing Jew, to keep Shabbat, to learn Torah and to generally be the person
that I choose to be.
Having these freedoms allows me to
be a Torah Observant Jew, and it is the Torah itself, which I choose to follow,
that dictates exactly how far my freedoms may go. It provides a totally different sort of
freedom; one that we as a nation chose as we stood at the foot of Mount Sinai.
A nation unified in our dedication to G-d and all that He asks of us. As a people we chose to except upon ourselves
a different sort of Chairut (freedom.)
We chose the freedom of rules, the freedom of structure and the freedom
to follow the Creator of the World in whatever way He sees fit. Jewish freedom is not defined by one’s
ability to do whatever it is that we choose, it is defined by our ability to
choose Who to believe in and Who to guide us through this world.
Society outside of the Jewish
world would dictate that in order to be equal we must all be the same. As an Orthodox Jewish woman I do not believe
this to be the case. I do not believe
that all human beings are required to follow the commandments of the Torah, but
I think no less of those not born into our nation. I do not believe that those born outside of
the tribe of Judah are destined to be the kings that lead our nation, nor do I
expect to see Israelites stand before our congregation in blessing us during
birkat kohanim (the priestly blessing.)
I recognize that no one human being can ever fully participate in each
one of the 613 commandments set forth by G-d.
The Torah is a plan for a nation, and only united can His plan ever be
truly fulfilled.
Why then, I ask, has the mitzvah
of tefillin for women become so all important?
Is there some primal need and desire for a woman to strap a leather box
to her arm and head that makes her feel closer to the Creator of the World? Were it not for the commandment, I would even
go so far as to venture a guess that men themselves would not have come up with
such an initiative. There is little that
I have come across that leads me to understand or believe that the desire to
lay tefillin is one of a natural spiritual progression, rather it seems to stem
from a desire to follow halachah as dictated by the Torah.
So then why, again, are women
feeling such a pull and a need to lay tefillin?
It is seemingly not a natural spiritual desire such as prayer, where one
reaches out to G-d as if in conversation.
As far as I have been able to deduce the desire to wear tefillin comes
from the desire to follow G-d’s law.
But, for thousands of years women have lived highly spiritual and
religious lives without the need to fulfill this commandment on the whole.
Some will contest that for
thousands of years the halachot surrounding tefillin have been misunderstood
and twisted and it is therefore the job of the Modern Jewish Woman to “take
back” the law and reintroduce this concept into mainstream Judaism. It is widely known that the holy daughters of
Rashi himself were said to have donned their own tefillin; and I certainly cannot
speak to the finer halachic points regarding a woman’s ability to wear tefillin
as I am not nearly well versed enough to make such a determination. Truthfully though, my question is not whether
or not we can, my question remains, why do so many women want to? I do not dare stand in judgment of anyone who
wants to further their connection to G-d, I simply seek to understand how the
mitzvah of tefillin aides in doing so.
Why has wearing tefillin itself become
such a focus? Have the other mitzvoth been
perfected? Why this particular
mitzvah? Are there not less
controversial mitzvoth to which we women can dedicate our time? The choice to wear tefillin does not seem to
fulfill an intellectual need that has been awoken in women across the
world. It does not even seem to fulfill an
innate spiritual need.
To this one humble observer it
seems to fill the need for many living in modern society today to be the same;
and in being the same, they then consider themselves equal. In Jewish life, however, to be equal is not
always to be the same.
We can all agree that women and
men were not, in fact, created the same.
This is not to say that they were created unequal, simply different. There are biological and physiological
differences. Is it sexiest or unequal
for a woman to seek out treatment from a physician who specializes in women’s
health? Is it elitist to want someone
who recognizes that a woman is not simply a smaller man but a unique creation
unto herself? And what about doctors who
specialize in Jewish genetic diseases?
Should we deny that such illnesses even exist in the name of being “the
same?” The answer to all of these ridiculous
questions is “of course not.” To deny
the differences among people is to deny reality. Why then do women across the world seek to be
so similar to men?
Why did women fight for the right
to wear pants yet men never seemed to, en masse, take on the cause of wearing
dresses? Why are so many women in the world intent on being smaller men? Why is it that to be a feminist in today’s
day and age one needs to have the desire to do everything a man has
traditionally done? Why is there so
little pride in what women have been able to accomplish in their more
traditional roles?
I don’t claim to have all of the
answers and I certainly don’t stand in judgment of those seeking to improve
their relationship with G-d. I do
however have a problem with those who stand in judgment of me. Those who claim that I lack pride in my own
gender or think I am “weak” for not having the same needs and desires as they
do. I am no less a feminist for not
feeling the need to wear tefillin then they are for wanting to do just
that. I am a proud Jewish woman; strong,
intelligent and spiritual. My desire to
be different from men does not make me subservient or unequal. It is simply my admission that G-d in His
infinite wisdom has created me different then my male counterparts, and I don’t
need to earn societies respect by pretending otherwise.
I recognize and dare I even say
celebrate the differences between men and women. Who is to say that women aren’t the stronger
of the two sexes? Muscle mass is not the
only measure of strength. Women have
been recognized since the beginning of time as being the spiritually dominant
gender. Why then do so many seek to have
the same spiritual requirements of the “lesser sex?” Again, I can and do respect all people who
desire to reach their greatest potential in every area of life. I only hope
that someday soon women across the world, Jew and non-Jew alike, will recognize
that our worth is not measured in terms of how much of a man we can be, but in
how much of ourselves we can be.
