The Preeminence of Women
Men and women both possess an inner fountain of faith. Women, however, were blessed with fewer obstructions to their inner faith and love for G-d. PIKUDEI PIKUDEI
Debunking the Patriarchy theory
When the Jewish people were commanded to contribute to the building of the Mishkan-the portable Sanctuary, the Torah relates that the women were most eager to contribute their jewelry. This was in stark contrast to their response to the collection of jewelry for the construction of the Golden Calf. There, our Sages tell us, the women absolutely refused to participate. The men had to give their own jewelry for that sinful cause.
What was it about the women that inspired them to contribute to the Mishkan, when they would absolutely have no share in the other “communal” project, the construction of the Golden Calf?
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If there is anything we can learn from this experience is that contrary to the modern “scholarly” view, Judaism was never just a patriarchy, where men dominated all. If that were the case, it is unfathomable that virtually an entire nation of men participated in or acquiesced to the construction and worship of the Golden Calf, whereas all of the women demurred!
It is thus obvious that the women were in control of their own spiritual destinies. Whatever power the men may have exercised over the women, it did not extend itself to what they considered to be the primary arena of life—their Jewish and spiritual commitments.
The feminine mystique
But, this simply begs an obvious question. Why were the women capable of resisting the temptation to follow the men in their involvement with the Golden Calf? And why were they the ones to lead with the PIKUDEI contributions of their valuables to the Mishkan?
Chassidic thought explains this phenomenon with the premise that everyone possesses an innate sense of faith in G-d. As a result of this internal reservoir of faith, one would never desire to do anything that can sever his or her connection to G-d.
Yet, this deep-rooted faith and conviction can be—and is usually—obscured by the outer layers of our personalities. People who are more philosophically inclined, for example, have a more difficult time to express a faith that is simple and pure. Their very temperament compels them to seek a logical explanation for and philosophize about everything. There can also be other personality traits, such as unbridled temptations that serve as impediments to one’s inner faith. In the pursuit of what may be morally repugnant, the human mind will work overtime finding some rationalization for that behavior.
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Frequently it takes a crisis situation to jolt people into realizing that they really have this faith deep within them.
While both men and women possess this inner well of faith, women, by nature, Chassidic thought teaches us, are more capable of expressing their internal feelings of faith. That which obscures faith is not as potent in women as it is in men.
Hence, when the women were confronted with an opportunity to contribute to a Golden Calf, they immediately recognized that it was incongruous with their faith in G- d and in His commandment to them not to have any other gods. Owing to their nature, the men, were able to construct rationalizations that obfuscated the awareness of how their actions were totally incompatible with their own faith in G-d.
Conversely, when the women were approached to contribute to the Mishkan, no feelings of attachment to one’s own jewelry could deter them from translating their faith into the act of building a Sanctuary for G-d.
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The unique role of women in the pre- Messianic Age
The Messianic Age has been identified by the Kabbalists as the age of “spiritual femininity.” This means that the qualities that are associated with femininity will extend to the entire world. Even men will be capable of removing the outer layers of their personalities—without losing their masculine qualities—and allow their inner spirituality and attachment to G-d shine through them.
In other words, the Messianic Age will not destroy the spiritual qualities that are associated with masculinity; it will only eliminate the spiritual roadblock that obscures one’s inner faith that is associated with the masculine.
Our Sages inform us that the Exodus from Egypt came as a result of the faith of the women of that generation. Our Sages also state that the future Redemption will also be in the merit of the righteous women of this generation. It is the unique ability possessed by women to express their innermost feelings PIKUDEI that opens the way for the liberation of the entire world and to usher in an Age that will “liberate” all of our soul’s most profound aspirations that have heretofore been concealed and obstructed.
In Jewish thought—particularly as it has been illuminated by the teachings of Chassidus—women are the forces of liberation!
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From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Vayakhel-Pikudei by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
