Joodse traditie als permanent leren

gave full effect to the prohibitive statement of Rabbi Eliezer, but

limited it to teaching the Oral Law, permitting for women the study

of the Written Law, though hesitating to allow men to teach even

that to women. Among Ashkenaz^ scholars, Rabbi Eliezer's

position also came to the fore, but with exemption granted to allow

for the teaching of functional as opposed to theoretical Jewish know-

17

ledge, whether in the vVritten or Oral Law. 18

Among the Acharonim ((midden 15e tot de 20e eeuw n, chr, )), two divergent approaches have manifested themselves:

(1) On one hand, the stringencies have been carried even further to the point of serious consideration being given to the possibility that

it is even prohibited for women to study the Oral Law by themselves* and for men to teach them even the complexities of the Written Torah.²⁰

(2) On the other hand, two more permissive lines of thought have also begun to emerge,

- (2a) One such line constructs its case for permission to teach

women both Written and Oral Torah, on a purely functional base. Thus the Chafetz Chayyin ((1838-1933 ) and others have argued that the fact that Jewish women are beneficiaries of a secular education makes it mandatory for us to assure that their knowledge of Scripture and Rabbinic thought be sufficient to preserve 2 1

their identity as Jews

- (2b) A second line of opinion developing among the Acharonim

is even more interesting because for the first time since Ben

Azzai it speaks in terms of an obligation of women to study

Torah, albeit a limited one. Rabbi Josef Karo ((1488-1575))

already suggested that women are obligated to study those laws 22

which pertain to them . But it is Schneur Zalman of Liadi

((1745-1813)) who formulates a broad principle by vvhich women

are obligated to study all laws of the Torah, both Biblical and

Rabbinic, except those concerning mitzvot ((gedragsregels))

23 24

which they are not obligated to perform . ' Samenvattend kan geconcludeerd worden dat in de joodse traditie vrouwen minder moeten, maar ook minder mogen leren dan mannen. Ook genieten zij minder onderwijs dan mannen.