Feminism   Moshe Ben-Chaim   Reader: It would be greatly appreciated if you would place a section for women which would include different assorted sub-topics on women but would include something against feminists. Although this may not be a huge problem in the orthodox community many women do have a problem with the way Rabbi's spoke about women so if you could please disprove that and show how good it is to be a women so that women out there should not become feminists and understand what their job is with clarity. Thank you.   Mesora: I appreciate your concern with this matter. If anyone, including rabbis, are speaking in a belittling light with concern to women, let them read the last chapter of Proverbs, where King Solomon praises the virtues of a good woman. I know that in certain communities a woman is looked upon as "less important" or in a lower status then men. This is simply "sinas chinam" in a more widespread and unfortunately, a more acceptable form. Degrading anyone, especially one not having offended another, is clearly the mark of an insecure human being.   Was not Avraham told by Hashem to listen to his wife Sarah regarding sending Ishmael out of the house? She is said to have been a higher level prophetess than Avraham. Perhaps men err by thinking, "men have more mitzvos, so we are more important". Having more mitzvos does not mean women cannot choose to follow all that men follow. It simply means that women have no obligation, but they can derive equal perfection by following the mitzvos as men do. Of course there are areas where the Rabbis limited womens' involvement, such as reading from the Torah. But this in no way means that a woman is inferior. As Rabbi Mann stated, the Gemara says that initially women were permitted to read from the Torah. The Rabbis however saw that man's honor would be removed had women continue to read. This Rabbi Mann explained means that it would show men as incapable if women fulfilled man's role as the perpetuator of Torah. So to keep man's honor intact, the Rabbis prohibited women from reading the Torah. In reality, it is not a diminution of women's honor which the Rabbis enacted, but just the opposite, it was to protect man from losing his.   Kindness commanded by the Torah is to be shown to all of mankind, including women. How can one degrade the very cause of his own existence? His two parents.   Let one think about the Torah's hashkafa (philosophy) regarding equal respect to both genders, before he decides to follow his own insecurities.