Women's merit of Torah study

Ravina says: It is certainly the merit of Torah[1], and insofar as she is not commanded[2], while it is true that she isn't commanded with the reward of her bringing her children to learn and waiting for her husband until they come from the study hall[3] does she not deserve to split their reward with them!? (Sota 21a)

This excerpt is from an extended discussion of the kind of merit which would delay the punishment of a sotah. The Gemara had already concluded that the merit must be of Torah (as opposed to other mitzvot) but was bothered since women are not obligated and therefore their reward for Torah should be less. Ravina argues that women are able to merit a high reward for Torah through the effort of bringing their children to school and of allowing their husbands to travel to foreign cities for their learning.

This Gemara is seemingly problematic. The benefit of Torah seems to be knowing the ideas, how does supporting others in their learning attain the same merit as Torah study itself? Of course supporting Torah is a great Mitzvah, but it should be on the level of other Mitzvot, and not the study of Torah.
Furthermore, what is the special significance of letting her husband leave town to learn, why is this the measure of her support?

These questions are based on the premise that the benefit of Torah study is the knowledge which is gained. However that is not the case - the real benefit from Torah and Mitzvot comes from moving our reality principle from being attached to the physical and instead grounding it in the metaphysical. By studying Torah we are valuing the development of knowledge over our physical and psychological needs. The perfection for both men and women comes from developing Ahavat Hashem - the attraction to know God[4], who is beyond the physical.

From this standpoint women are obligated in studying insofar as it allows for ahavat Hashem [5]. However in the process of recognizing a metaphysical reality more significant than the self there is another framework - mesora. Namely recognizing that our study only occurs within a national learning community which spans generations, and ultimately relates back to Sinai. From that standpoint we are not only valuing our own intellectual development but rather we are valuing the maintaining of wisdom within the Jewish community. In the framework of Mesora, men were given the responsibility of study and teaching. Therefore men recognize the superiority of mesora through their commitment to study, while women show it through encouraging those who are obligated. The women who sends her children and husband off to learn is recognizing the greater value of knowledge then her psychological desire for their presence.

This difference is related to a psychological difference between men and women [6]. Men are generally driven by the goal of individual accomplishment, therefore he must overcome that desire, by giving up on individual greatness and contributing to the mesora community. For women the greater desire is for relationships, and specifically she enjoys the attention gained from her husband and children. This attachment to her husband and children is often the strongest drive and therefore this is the area she must overcome her attachments and recognize the greater reality of wisdom[7].  Since this is so she gains the same benefit as a man would from actual study, since both of them have chosen to fulfill their obligation to the mesora community even though it means overcoming their personal desires. Thus both are developing the perfection of realizing the reality of a metaphysical world beyond the self.

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[1] which delays the punishment for the Sota
[2] And one who is not commanded is not as great as one commanded
[3] Specifically when they travel to another city to study (Rashi)
[4] to the degree man can know Him
[5] see hilchot yesodei hatorah 2:1-2, 4:12-13 and hilchot Teshuva ch 10. [also, note that in Yesodei Hatorah 4:13 the Rambam includes women in learning the discussions of Abaye and Rava]
[6] of course there will be exceptions, this is talking about the normal circumstance, as reflected in the different punishments of Adam and Chava in Bereshit 3:16-19
[7] Note this is also a contribution to the mesora community, for a treatment of role of women in the Mesora, see The essay by Rabbi Soloveitchik "The Rebbetzin of Talne"

The deep seated drive of Sexism

And the daughters of Tzlefchad approached - When the daughters of Tzefchad heard that the land would be divided to the men and not the women, they gathered to plan. The said: The God's mercy is not like man's mercy. Man has greater mercy on men than on women; but He who spoke and the world was, is not that way, rather his mercy is on everyone equally, men and women, as it says "God is good to all, and his mercy is on all of his creations. (Sifri Pinchas)

This midrash identifies a very deep bias which we suffer from. Even enlightened men can suffer from an unconscious bias against women. This is important for us to realize since we often think that in our enlightened age we have fully overcome this bias. 

God, of course, does not have this bias, rather He relates to all people as His creatures. By extension His Torah also does not have this bias. The Torah does make distinctions between men and women, but these differences are based upon God's knowledge of the different psychological features of men and women, and assigns them different social roles. The Torah is not biased against any group of people and instead wants to guide all people to perfection. Whenever the Torah seems biased on any issues it means that we have not yet understood it, and we should think about the issues more deeply (including investigating our own biases).

This is why the daughters of Tzlefchad approached, they realized that God would be merciful to them, and the law would take into account their sadness at losing the family portion since their father had died. They would not have minded if they had brothers who could receive the portion, but the loss of the family heritage would be very painful. They recognized that human law might be biased against them as women, but God's law would fully take into account their pain.

Even though the Torah is not biased we must be careful when we interpret the Torah not to let this or any other bias guide the interpretation and instead carefully allow the Torah to communicate God's values, which relate to all people equally as His creatures. Through recognizing our biases we can carefully avoid them governing our thought, and free our minds to understand the Torah correctly.

Accepting the Yoke of Heaven - an agricultural metaphor

Ephraim is a guided calf who loves to thresh, I passed over her good neck; I will ride Ephraim, Yehudah will plow, Yaakov will break clods: You should plant rightness, and you will harvest kindness, furrow a furrow for yourselves; It is time to seek God, until He comes and teaches you rightness: You have plowed evil, you will harvest iniquity; you will eat the fruit of falsehood since you have relied on your ways, on the might of your heroes (Hoshea 10:11-13)

Accepting God's Oneness and His commandments is often characterized as a 'yoke'. Hoshea takes this familiar metaphor and deepens its meaning through reconnecting it to its original agricultural context.

Farming has many stages and demands hard work. It starts with plowing and continues with planting, harvesting and threshing. The yoke guides the ox during the plowing. The ox only 'wants' to thresh, which as the final stage of the process is work with grain available for eating. However the plowing and other stages are necessary for reaching this point.

The purpose of the yoke is to guide the ox to effectively work the fields. Encouraging it to do the work which it otherwise would not do.  The yoke is attached to a heavy plow, but it is not a meaningless burden.

This is the basis of the metaphor of the 'yoke of God's kingship' and the 'yoke of the commandments'. The Torah is a system which guides us to remain on the straight path, and encourages us to do the early steps which we might otherwise ignore in favor of immediate pleasure. Furthermore, like a yoke, the Mitzvot are not a meaningless burden.

This metaphor points to another issue as well. When we plant, we work hard but we must wait patiently for the harvest, which arises from the natural system (rain, sun and the internal potential of the seed). Our service of God must be similar. The ongoing quest of seeking God is the only way to ultimately live a righteous life, but it does not produce immediate results. We must wait patiently for God to teach us the right path, enlightening our souls with knowledge. Study is a necessary prerequisite for knowledge, but ultimately we are not the source, and enlightenment comes from God's kindness, just as the harvest comes as a result of His natural forces.[1]

Living correctly is a necessary prerequisite for redemption, but for this too we must wait patiently and not overly rely on our own power. On the contrary, if we rely on our own might, whether for material blessing or for knowledge, we set up the causes of long term failure. If we ground our actions in falsehood we will ultimately receive the evil consequences of our fantasy of independent power.

In all areas of benefit, we must keep in mind our dependence on divine kindness. While at the same time, follow the guidance of God's Law to achieve all of the necessary prerequisites for receiving His blessing. Once we have done everything we can, we must have the patience to sit and wait.

[1] this does not mean that we are waiting for a miracle, God causes things as the source of the natural system, just like God created the natural systems which cause the plant to grow, so too he caused the systems which cause the mind to apprehend knowledge

Hamapil

Last week we spoke about the Bracha of Elohai Neshama. We normally think of the morning blessings as beginning when we awaken with the blessing of Elohai neshama. But many commentators claim that we actually begin the night before with the blessing of hamapil. [1]

This at first sight seems very strange. How do the blessings connect over 8 hours of sleep? Also, why do we consider a blessing before going to sleep to be the first of the morning blessings, isn't sleep the opposite of awakening?

For most of us, sleep is the well deserved rest after a hard day of work. It is a time to escape from the worries and troubles of the day. As such it is the final action of the day, a reward for a job well done. The Torah demands that we view sleep differently. Sleep is not the last action of the day, but rather the first.

Since the greatest good in life is the pursuit of wisdom, and in sleep we enter a fantasy world, sleep cannot be viewed as a reward, but rather a necessary preparation to regain our strength for the following day; if not for this, sleep would not be good. Therefore, sleep is actually the first action of the day, giving us the energy for a day of pursuing knowledge.[2]

In general the Torah demands that we serve God at all times and in all ways. Night cannot be an escape from divine service. The way we serve God at night is by using it for Torah study and for necessary sleep[3].

This is how hamapil connects to elohai neshama. Together they qualify our sleep as part of our divine service. At night we prepare our sleep to be useful in regenerating our energy for another day of seeking God, and in the morning we immediately start refocusing ourselves from the dream worlds of the night and preparing ourselves to stand before God in Tefillah

Furthermore, in spite of its necessity, sleep is a danger as well. In sleep our imaginations are let loose and we are susceptible to falling into a world of fantasy and false ideas. We must counter this danger to the degree possible by focusing our thoughts on the divine.

This is why we say Shema before going to bed. The Yerushalmi says that we say kriat shema for protection from the demons [lit. damagers]. The Meiri points out (on Brachos 4b) that these ‘damagers’ are false beliefs, since there is nothing more harmful.

Through the Shema, we reflect on God’s oneness and reinforce our attachment to knowledge and avoid falling into a belief in other powers. We recognize the idea of His oneness as the fundamental principle, which everything else depends on and the life of love and knowledge which derives from that.

Lastly, night is a time of fear. The darkness of the night make it dangerous and frightening and raises primal terrors which force us to face our own mortality. 

This is the framework for the Bracha of Hamapil.

First we thank God, who created drowsiness, and gave us sleep as a regenerative mechanism. Sleep refreshes us both physically and psychologically allowing us to awaken refreshed. [4]

Then we ask God to help make our sleep effective, and not allow it to become a source of harm and reattachment to fantasy.

We ask for success in a number of ways. That our sleep be peaceful without psychological disturbance; that it allow us to awaken refreshed and not disturbed by bad dreams; that it not overwhelm us with disturbing imaginations and wishes; that our bed also serve as the place where our sexual drive will be redirected towards having children who will grow up to be wise and righteous.

Finally, we summarize the Blessing by recognizing God, as the source of all enlightenment and flourishing. In this way we face our fear of death, and recognize God as the source of life, both physical life and the life of mind [5].

My brother Josh added an important point, the role of sleep in consolidating knowledge shows that sleep is not the beginning of the day per se, but rather the bridge between one day of avodah and the next.

[1] The technical argument which supports this theory is that all blessings must begin with ‘baruch’ unless they are part of a sequence. Since Elohai Neshama does not begin with Baruch, it would seem to be part of a sequence, but since it is said as one is waking up, the only prior blessing is ‘hamapil’ from the night before.

[2] An interesting corollary is that we do not view the best death as dying in your sleep but rather dying while actively involved in knowledge.

[3] see Hilchot Deot 3:3, note that it isn't only a question of the actions that we do but also our motivation for those actions

[4] In fact sleep is also directly important in the pursuit of knowledge since it allows the unconscious to work through issues of the day and can in many cases provide us new insight into the problems we are thinking about.

[5] Which as we noted in Elohai Neshama finds its ultimate expression upon our physical deaths.