Women and Torah

A beautiful story in the Gemara tells of a young man who valiantly saved a lass from drowning in a well. This story teaches that breaking a promise is a severe transgression of Torah that triggers extreme difficulties in life. These difficulties frequently manifest themselves in a measure-for-measure manner. That way, a person with spiritual awareness can recognize what he or she did wrong and atone accordingly.

The Torah tells us that Sarah lived to the age of 127 (Genesis 23:1). Rashi, our foremost biblical commentator explains that they were all equally good years. How could that be true? Few women in history had a more difficult and apparently miserable life that our Matriarch Sarah. Her life was a never-ending saga of trials and tribulations...

There are repeated time in Jewish history when a single woman's heartbeat was the only difference between physical and spiritual survival and annihilation. Today's podcast is a tribute to Rabbi Zecharia HaCohen Wallerstein zatza"l, who departed the physical world on Rosh Chodesh Iyar, 5782 (2 May, 2022).

In one of the Torah's most dramatic scenes, Esau and Jacob meet after years of estrangement. In this confrontation, the first thing Esau does is to stare at Jacob's wives. We learn here the huge difference between Esau's and Jacob's attitude toward women. The same difference continues today in the opposing attitudes of modern society and the Torah in regard to women.

There were times in our history when the entire future of Torah and the entire future of the Jewish People rested on the shoulders of one woman...

This is our fourth and final chapter of the Book of Ruth, but we begin with a synopsis of the first three chapters. The Book of Ruth gives an amazing insight into the magnificent and unexpected events that lead up to Moshiach and Geula.

If you think Torah isn't exciting, you haven't yet learned the Book of Ruth properly.If you think Torah isn't romantic, you haven't yet learned the Book of Ruth properly.If you think Torah isn't inspiring, you haven't yet learned the Book of Ruth properly.If you think Torah sells women short and is chauvinistic, sorry, you don't know the Book of Ruth.Here's your chance to learn and appreciate the beauty of the Book of Ruth. Today's lesson begin with a review of Chapters One and Two, then hits the height of the drama and suspense of Chapter Three.

In Chapter Two of the Book of Ruth, we learn how Moshiach is blessed with the DNA of his great grandmother Ruth, whose compassionate deeds uplifted her from the lowest imaginable spiritual roots to the highest stature imaginable, a truly self-made woman.

In our introduction to the Book of Ruth, we learn how the Dark Side tries everything to prevent Moshiach's arrival, so Hashem must engineer it in such a way that catches the unholy spiritual opposition completely off guard.