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PARSHAT MATTOT Parshat Mattot teaches us that if a woman makes a vow, taking upon herself a particular stringency, her father may nullify it and the woman is no longer bound by her vow. "But if her father disallows her in the day that he hears, not any of her vows, or of her bonds, wherewith she has bound her soul, shall stand; and the Eternal shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her" (Bamidbar 30:6). When she marries her husband is now empowered to nullify her vow instead. "Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void." (Ibid. 14) SEEMINGLY CHAUVINISTIC LAWS How do we explain the fact that a man can nullify a vow taken by his daughter or wife, whereas a woman cannot nullify the vow taken by her son or husband? Doesn't it seem as if the Torah denigrates the woman and regards her as being unable to take responsibility for her own decisions? Although we acknowledge the Divine source of all the Torah laws, how can we, as mature liberated women, accept laws, which seem to impede the independence of women? ETERNAL LAWS OF TORAH OUTWEIGHS NORMS OF MODERN SOCIETY The main principle when learning Torah is that whenever the laws
of the Torah contradict what is socially accepted in the "free"
Western world, the Torah which has eternal value takes precedence
over the ephemeral values of the Western world. However, there is
a reason why Hashem causes certain perspectives to become popular
at different times. Each wave of consciousness draws out another
aspect from within the depths of the wellsprings of Torah. Our need
to assert and extend the validity of the woman to encompass the
Torah laws, which seem to belittle her role, becomes an impetus
for perceiving these laws in a deeper way. For the complete dvar Torah, please send email to berot@netvision.net.il. *******~~~~~*******~~~~~*******~~~~~*******~~~~~*******~~~~~*******
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