Shevaḥ nashim (In Praise of Women)
Gedaliah Ibn Yaḥya
ca. 1550
I have realized, and my attention has been drawn to the fact that many people say that the salvation of women is not on the same level as that of men, for their [women’s] knowledge is limited. They cannot ascend to possess and divide the wealth of good virtues or intellectual achievement. The outcome of this is that they cannot reach the higher realms of the world to come. However, it was not for nothing that the sages spoke about this secret, as they declared: “All of Israel has a place in the world to come” [m. Sanhedrin 10.1], and women are included in this category, for they are daughters of the children of Israel. Thus, I bestirred myself (Nehemiah 5:13): I, the young Gedaliah, son of Don Joseph [Ibn] Yaḥya, may his memory merit him life in the world to come, in order to advocate in favor of women. For such is the way of everyone who is wise at heart, to be a representative in front of the judges when the litigant does not know how to represent his own case. This is according to that which is written Open your mouth for those who cannot speak (Proverbs 31:8). I will not proceed by advocating them for their strength, for I have a different manner and a different defense, apart from those things that I have seen in holy books and proofs from verses of the Bible; “and judgment will cut through the mountain.”1 First, I will lay out in front of you several practical examples of some women of all types who were great in their attributes and intellectual attainments. Afterwards, I will come to you and I will bless you [see Exodus 20:20] with proofs that are as clear as the sun, and I will show you that their virtues are very many, and that there are numerous strong women. And now, open your eyes and see. [ . . . ]
I saw these things, and I fell silent, and my heart and ear were sealed closed; I was fallen down, yet with open eyes [see Numbers 24:4]. I imagined the female as punctured,2 and I was filled with a spirit without taste, smell, or touch. I continued to argue against them [who speak badly against women] in my composition entitled Sefer Gedalyah on the portion of Bereshit. Now, who can see these things that are coming out before us, apart from those which are scattered abroad and dispersed [see Esther 3:8] in the Written Torah and Oral Torah, and not judge according to the decree of that which the ancient one says, and by the word of the holy watchers [see Daniel 4:14]? For this woman that stands in front of us is a magnificent and blissful creature, almost to the point that I would say that there is nothing else in the entire world as worthy of such praise and adoration. This is for many reasons. And all of these are in addition to those which the philosopher Plutarch expounded in his special book concerning the virtue of women.
In the Midrash, R. Judah bar Simon said: “Everything that was created after its fellow creature rules over its fellow creature” [Genesis Rabbah 19]. Behold, woman was created after man, and thus, she is more distinguished, and she rules over everything.
Man was created from one element, from the dust of the earth, which is a despised thing that is treaded upon by the feet of all who reside upon the earth. In the creation of woman, however, not even one grain of dust entered into her.
Man was created from one element alone, which is earth, and it too is the dirtiest of all, as it is written: then the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7). By contrast, woman was created from one of the limbs of the man, which contains a mixture of all of the four elements within the four humors. Consider also the folk saying: “The meat that is closest to the bone is the sweetest to eat.” Perhaps this was His intention, may He be blessed, in creating the woman from the rib bone and not from the arteries, the sinews, or the flesh. Thus, woman is more excellent in her temperament and in the mixture of her humors.
For every human action, the end is always more magnificent than the beginning or the middle of the action, even when all of the parts require each other. Is not the beginning of the thought of planting a tree for the purpose of it growing fruit? For the fruit, which is the end of the action, is the principal reason for the planting. So it was with the creation of man, who is similar to the planting of a tree; the rib came forth from him, which is like the branch for the fruit, which is the woman. Thus, woman is the principal and ultimate end of the building.
If the woman does not follow the man, then behold, the man would be like a slave carrying a very heavy load that is impossible to bear. If this slave’s friend were to come and to put his shoulder under the load, then behold, the two would be able to carry it on a pole with a fair amount of ease. Thus it was with the creation of the woman. The man was ready for the hardships of the land, but these were innumerous on account of the afflictions and anguishes [see Lamentations 3:19] that they caused. What did the Blessed One do? He said: But for the man, there was not found a help meet for him, then He took the rib (Genesis 2:20–21). Thus, woman is the helper who provides the form and completes the actions of man.
Notes
[I.e., “the law will take its course,” or “logic will win out”; see b. Sanhedrin 6b, b. Yevamot 92a.—Trans.]
[In the Hebrew, there is a play on the words female (nekevah) and punctured (nekuvah).—Trans.]
Credits
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.
