Almost all of the Hebrew Bible ignores women. When females are mentioned, it seems only to describe heterosexuality, sexual violence, and childbirth. And even the latter is not safe, since it often says that guys ‘begot’ kids. Very strange for a benevolent Creat^r and moral tradition.
But, on the other hand, Orthodox Rabbis are often the most-women-friendly men on the planet. In fact, so women-friendly that, when you ask them about their ban on male homosexuality, they’re not even interested. They only see the problems of the ‘chained women,’ not ‘chained gays.’
Classical Christianity very much stressed that Eve brought the Primordial Sin into the world. Judaism says that Adam should not have listened to his wife, but this is rectified when G^d tells Abraham to do all Sarah tells him.
Feminism wants equal rights for women. But the Jewish system is very much one of holding people to their responsibilities rather than have them insist on rights. A serious misfit with feminism. Modernity has opened many doors for women, including Orthodox-Jewish ones. But Judaism was the first movement in the world to take some women’s concerns seriously.
To address another layer of confusing reality, feminism has been a trap of traditional society to burden women even more. Now, most women are not only allowed to compete in the job market (for lower pay) but they are also supposed to have a career and run a household at the same time. ‘Feminist’ husbands often promise to do half the chores but rarely deliver.
Could there be a Jewish-feminist viewpoint that breaks with neither?
Copying the Men or Not?
We have seen many attempts by Orthodox women demanding equality with men. A women’s section in the synagogue. Women officiating at the Service. Women learning Talmud. Women learning to be Rabbis. Equality that seems copied from secular society. Why tolerate discrimination?
This is much better than women (and men) allowing a subservient position of women. For that, it’s a big step forward. And generally, women do so much better. Ginger Rogers set the same steps as Fred Aster, on high heels and backward. There can be no doubt that women can outdo the men.
A second possibility is to have women blossom, even ignoring the men.
Unfortunately, many Reform Congregations see Shabbat services with beaming women doing it all splendidly but without the men because they are tired and preferred to sleep in. It’s not that the women are not tired but they learned to first get the work out of the way so that they ‘can’ rest. And without separation between men and women, men are not forced to relate to men anymore. And to relate to women, they do already at home.
A Proposal for an Alternative
I want to suggest a new way to frame the issue that may make problems surprisingly disappear and unexpected possibilities open up effortlessly.
Judaism gives more responsibilities to the socially powerful. And men are truly pelted with an endless list of Divine demands. Do women need this?
Perhaps, the Bible and Jewish Law focus on men because they are the main problem in the world. Not that there are no lazy, mean, dishonest, cruel women, but you know what I mean. Selfishness, fighting, power playing, creating wars, and committing sexual violence. The world’s jails are full of men and not because women get away with anything.
If a certain medicine is good for heart or cancer patients, should everyone take it? Of course not! So, why should women try to go through the grueling demands Jewish Law puts on men? The Torah and Jewish Law leave women largely alone because they trust them.
Before the CORONA, I used to go to a weekly ultra-Orthodox lecture for women where men are allowed (in the back). The first thing I noticed was the excellent questions these women ask. No power struggle to be heard and no ‘tell me how cute I am before I feel safe to say what I think.’ They know their stuff and pinpoint where the Rabbi could expand on what he said. He takes them seriously and they take themselves seriously. Their ideas are really from a women’s perspective and very worthwhile.
The whole world is enriched when women share their thinking (not necessarily in the male way of building theories). Everybody’s life will go better when more women are in positions of power. Not because they are better than men (they are). But because they have so much to contribute.
My wish is that many women will not have to waste their energy in competing with men. Their own voices are good enough as they are.
And women should never give up on training the best men in their lives (father, partner, sons, students, colleagues) to be solid allies to women.
The above is a totally heterosexual story because Jewish Law generally prescribes for the average person. However, because of the enormous debt feminism and all women owe lesbians and transwomen (and Jewish women), let me add that if a woman’s voice is very valuable to be heard, just imagine how valuable a lesbian’s and a transwoman’s voice are!
And for men who get nervous from the above, let me add: understandably. Let me then add, for when women become the dominant voice in society, (which they are not at all yet,) that a man’s voice is very interesting too.
Agree or disagree with any of this. I’m happy if it inspired you to think.
MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. *
As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. *
This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Of the 15 (!) books he has in mind, the next two are about homosexuality in Judaism and new rabbinics. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2600 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog that also may contain updates to Times of Israel posts, to which one may subscribe, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. *
He's getting ready to publicize books on: "Free Will, "Judaism and Homosexuality, "His parents in the Holocaust, "Judaism, "A New Torah Translation and "A New Hebrew Grammar, "Co-Counseling, "Vegan Facts, "Immortality, and more. *
Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He agrees that in a post-truth world, that's irrelevant, but then this is for the record. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. *
Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. *
Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. *
He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. *
He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. *
He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. *
His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. His posts are spell, grammar, and style polished by AI, but all written by himself. *
To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. *
His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1
