Over the summer, one of our own Roshei Yeshiva published a derasha on Parashat Eikev entitled “Trampled Laws.” Rabbi Mordechai Willig, Rosh Yeshiva and halacha professor at Yeshiva University, urged his Modern Orthodox readers to carefully observe the mitzvot, even when others “trample” over them. He writes that “We must observe the laws upon which others trample…We must study Torah with joy and humility,” and we must uphold our tradition, not daring “to change it or question its Divinity, morality, or immutability.”
To a mainstream Modern Orthodox reader, this message may resonate easily. A reminder that as Jews we can’t always follow the crowd is important and necessary. Unfortunately, the rest of the derasha reveals that the “others” in this instance actually refers to other Jews—specifically those who support egalitarian prayer services, the ordination of female rabbis, and same-sex marriage among Jewish couples—and that the “we” mentioned with regards to Torah study doesn’t include women.
The latter exclusion is the most troubling to me, and Rabbi Willig makes this marginalizing move clearly in his derasha. He writes:
“Although there are ample reliable sources that encourage individual women who have proper yiras Shomayim [“fear of Heaven”] and whose motives are consistent with our mesorah [tradition] to further their Torah study, the inclusion of Talmud in curricula for all women in Modern Orthodox schools needs to be reevaluated. While the gedolim [rabbinic and halachik leaders] of the twentieth century saw Torah study to be a way to keep women close to our mesorah, an egalitarian attitude has colored some women’s study of Talmud and led them to embrace and advocate egalitarian ideas and practices which are unacceptable to those very gedolim.”
Leading up to this directive, Rabbi Willig cites Rashi (Bereshit 1:28) who says that “women are to be more private than men…and are exempted from the mitzvah of Talmud Torah (Kidushin 29).” He even cites support from Rabbi Moshe Feinstein who said that a woman’s maternal role and responsibility is the basis for this halachik exemption. Talmud Torah is a “time consuming obligation” and Chazal wouldn’t want this to interfere with her role as a mother.
I could go on for pages about the parts of this derasha that deeply concern me. I could make far-reaching statements about gender roles, cite my profoundly important experiences as a student of Gemara and preach to the choir of Stern students enrolled in a halacha course who would all shout in agreement, “Of course we all deserve a chance to receive a formal Gemara education!”
But I want to approach this topic with more nuance. I want to show that there is a way to read Rabbi Willig’s derasha and have a viable knee-jerk reaction, then try to read the derasha the way that Rabbi Willig may have intended for it to be received.
The initial read of this article leaves a female Jewish reader with a bad taste in her mouth. Rabbi Willig’s statement that formal Gemara education to “all women” in Modern Orthodox schools needs to be reconsidered is highly generalized. When he quotes the Chafetz Chaim who said that women of the twentieth century should engage in rigorous Talmud Torah, he quickly concludes that this allowance has had serious, unwanted consequences on Judaism today and should no longer be in affect. Rabbi Willig sees the progress made by educators such as the Chafetz Chaim and then pushes his readers to backtrack to a time when it was thought that a woman could only be a mother and not a student of Gemara simultaneously.
On the other hand, one could argue that a more careful reading of Rabbi Willig’s words would elicit a less offended response. According to Rabbi Willig, only those women who use Gemara study as a way to “advocate egalitarian ideas” are the ones to worry about. As long as a woman’s learning “encourage[s] her adherence to the mesorah” then she can receive a formal Gemara education. Right?
Not exactly. By saying that Gemara education for “all women” needs to be reconsidered, Rabbi Willig leaves no room for readers to defend his position on the basis of a caveat.
To suggest a termination of all women’s Gemara learning in Modern Orthodox schools for fear of its feeding into an egalitarian agenda is to compromise Judaism’s value on education in the worst way. For every student who would be “protected” from the world of Open Orthodoxy through this educational shield, there would be just as many traditionally observant, Modern Orthodox women who would lose an incredible opportunity to engage with our intellectual tradition. These costs severely outweigh the supposed benefits.
To suggest that women need not, and therefore should not actively engage in regular Talmud Torah is dangerous for the continuation of our religion. Rabbi Willig agrees with Rav Moshe’s statement that “the most important work for Hashem and for Torah” is to raise children. If so, women especially need to be well-versed in halacha. If the woman has a responsibility to build a Jewish home, to set the tone for that home and to nurture her children through Torah, shouldn’t her knowledge of halacha and Torah She’Baal Peh be precise and well-informed?
The Talmud is the intellectual battleground on which our most prominent sages debated the ambiguity of some of our mitzvot. They worked hard to give all Jews, irrespective of gender, a way to navigate halacha and observe the commandments with the utmost dignity and accuracy.
As Jews, we have always prioritized education, even at times when our sacred texts were being burned to dust. It would be a disgrace to my ancestors who worked so hard to preserve our textual education to ignore such a fundamental part of our religion just because of my gender.
I can try to read Rabbi Willig’s derasha and give him the benefit of the doubt. I can try to move past my knee-jerk reaction and see his words for what they were meant to be. Unfortunately, I cannot ignore his generalizations and accept his suggestion as truly considerate of my integrity as a student of Torah.