 |
 |
|
|
PARASHAT KI TAVO
The Torah goes into length describing both the sensitive man and
woman, each one by a separate verse. "The tender and delicate
woman among you, who would not adventure to set the sole of her
foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall
be evil towards the husband of her bosom, and towards her son, and
towards her daughter." (Dev. 28:56) Let's compare the verses
that describe the tender among men and women. What is the difference
between them? Kli Yakar notes that men are not as naturally delicate
as women. Therefore, it was necessary to add the word "most"
after the word "delicate" in reference to the man, to
emphasize that even the most delicate man would act in this cruel
way. However, among women one does not have to be especially delicate
to be disgusted with the thought of acting in this fashion. The
verse describing the tender woman comprises an additional phrase
not paralleled in the description of the delicate man, since a man
would never be portrayed in this manner. "...who would not
adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness
and tenderness." This phrase teaches us about the pitfalls
of taking femininity to its extreme and becoming excessively delicate. What does it mean to be too delicate to put the sole of her foot
upon the ground? Perhaps it refers to someone who is overly passive
and submissive. A person, who does not want to walk by herself,
is someone who is afraid to take responsibility for her own life.
She literally expects the man to carry her off her feet and take
care of her, while she surrenders her life in his hand. Her main
desire is to be swept away by her prince charming on his white horse.
Our mother Rivkah rectified this overly feminine tendency. She is
known for her initiative and decisiveness.
*******~~~~~*******~~~~~*******~~~~~*******~~~~~*******~~~~~******* |
 |
|