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Judaism Articles
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The Important
Role of Women in Judaism
To better comprehend the role of women in Judaism, it is
necessary to understand that all of God’s creations have a
distinctive responsibility towards the realization of God's
goals of creation. God’s creation of humanity is both the
culmination and objective of creation.
God’s greatest gift to man is the Jewish woman since Jewish
worship is family-centric and anchored on the home. Since one
of the primary goals of a Jew is to show love of God, the
sanctity of marriage between a man and woman becomes the
definitive guide for a Jew on the meaning of real love. In
Judaism, love is defined as the act of carrying out of the
potential of giving, which is clearly evident in everything
that God has given to man. It falls upon the shoulders of the
Jewish woman to guide not only herself but also her husband
and family in realizing and practicing selfless love in order
to bring the whole family closer to God.
There are three basic laws that a Jewish woman is given that
she must keep in order to perform her duty as a Jew, these
are:
1. It is vested on the Jewish woman to ensure the
continuity of Judaism because the future of Judaism is
anchored on children and how they are brought as Jews. It is
the mother who cares for a Jewish child's soul even before
birth by observing the rules of family purity (Taharat
HaMishpacha). The Jewish religion outlook on purity and
impurity is the reflection of a situation or lack of life. A
clear example is menstruating woman – in a state of
menstruation, a Jewish woman has moved from a state of being
pure to impurity because the blood and vessels in the womb
which can carry and bring forth life are now discharged by the
body. Only by performing a ritual bath of water (Mikvah) is
the woman able to regain her purity. Since water is the Jewish
symbol of life and the Torah, it is a must that the water used
for Mikvah should be rain-water. When a Jewish woman
faithfully observes and keeps Jewish laws, she performs her
duty to make certain that the souls of her children are pure
even before they are born.
2. The Lighting Candles on day of Shabbat is the second
law that a Jewish woman is entrusted with. Light is also one
of the symbols of Torah and the gift of Peace. By performing
the candle lighting duty on Shabbat, the Jewish woman
figuratively brings peace not only in her home but also into
her neighborhood and the world since by spreading light,
darkness is overcome and with it, its accompanying hate,
prejudice and everything else that lurks in the dark. It is
the Jewish woman who is in charge of bringing light, peace and
love into their home and the world.
3. The third law a Jewish woman must ensure is obeyed
diligently is the giving of tithe (Chalah) to the priest; this
is taken from bread-dough that weighs no less than 1,600
grams. Since there are no registered priests who can eat the
Chalah in holiness, it is now burnt respectfully. The Chalah
stands for a family’s economic and spiritual prosperity. For
centuries, it is the Jewish traditional that women bake
Challot on Fridays so that they can also give this tithe in
prayer for the richness of their family and to have fresh
bread on the day of Shabbat.
Religious laws are part of the Jewish tradition handed down by
God so that we can perform and observe them generations after
generations as a sign of love, respect and fealty to our
Maker. |
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Judaism News and
Information -
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05/16
Rabbis look for a kosher filter for Internet’s destructive influences
05/16
Judaism in two minutes
05/15
Court rules Judaism, not place of birth, is grounds for Israeli citizenship
05/15
Acclaimed Hip-hop Artist Y-Love Comes Out, Speaks Out On Being Openly Gay, Jewis..
05/14
African American And Latino Clergy On Obama's Gay Marriage Support
05/10
Lawyer’s talk to explore Moses, pot and self-discovery
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