Why Is It Forbidden to Teach Women Torah?

Hello and blessings,

First of all, it is permitted for a woman to learn Torah, and that is how it should be.

The issue that the sages disagreed upon pertains to a very specific part of Torah study - the Talmud, which deals with matters concerning murder, adultery, capital punishment, etc., as well as the examination of the roots of the laws of the Oral Torah. Such studies might be too much for a woman's delicate spirit (folly - refers to the idea that such matters would be unhelpful for her, and engaging in difficult laws could harm her soul). However, halachically it is ruled that women not only can learn Gemara but also have merit from Heaven for doing so (Rambam, Hilchot Torah Study 1:13).

Although women are not obligated to study Gemara, and it may not suit most of them, they certainly should learn Torah - Chumash, Tanakh, as well as ethics and halacha. For this reason, Bnei Brak is filled with Torah classes for women.

Of course, this matter is not related to a woman's intellectual capability, as our sages said (as you mentioned), that Hashem endowed women with greater understanding than men, meaning that they were granted a greater wisdom (Niddah 40b), and it is said that a woman knows her ways better than a man (what is often referred to today as female intuition), and more examples abound. Bruriah, mentioned in the Gemara, was a student of the sages. Deborah the Prophetess judged all of Israel according to the laws of the Torah. Rashi taught his daughters Gemara, and many further examples demonstrate this.

The issue relates to different roles in creation, which do not imply inferiority.

Judaism teaches us that a man and a woman are actually two halves of a soul that descend to this world, as explicitly stated in the Torah: "Male and female He created them, and He blessed them and called their name Adam" (Genesis 5:2). The man and the woman are collectively called "Adam". Our sages said that a man without a woman is not called Adam. In the World to Come, the man's soul reunites with the woman's soul, since they are one soul.

Judaism reveals the laws of creation (Torah comes from the root meaning instruction, a manufacturer’s manual). From the Torah, we learn that man and woman are two separate parts of a soul that together form a complete being. Yet separately, each has its advantages and disadvantages compared to the other gender. What this one has, the other lacks, and what the other has, this one lacks. Therefore, modern concepts such as "feminism" or "chauvinism" are foreign to Judaism, since Judaism does not recognize man as whole nor woman as whole, but rather sees them as one person composed of male and female, and together they fulfill the divine purpose!

It is important to emphasize that the Torah was not written by man, whether male or female, but by the Creator of the World, who knows and understands the human beings He created, and gave them the best instructions for repairing their souls.

Hashem created man and woman different in their bodies and their natures because He designated different spiritual corrections for them.

For this reason, there are commandments that the Torah obligates men to observe but does not obligate women, such as circumcision, tefillin, tzitzit, Torah study, and others. It exempts women from time-bound commandments. This is because the Torah acknowledges the unique needs of women and therefore exempted them from time-bound commandments, as Hashem has given women the esteemed role of bringing children into the world, entering into pregnancy, nursing, caring for young children and educating them. Therefore, the Torah excused them from the time-bound commandments. This means that a woman is good as she is, and she rectifies her soul without these commandments. Meanwhile, a man requires commandments like tefillin and tzitzit to reach his fullness. For men and women are different from one another. Even their drives are different: whereas men’s primary struggle will be with the evil inclination of pride, competitiveness, honor, anger, lust, and looking in prohibited places, women’s primary struggle tends to be with the evil inclination of gossip and modesty, as well as, in general, a tendency toward lightheadedness. In every rule, there are exceptions, but one can look around and see that there is a shared nature among most men, and a shared nature among most women, a nature that transcends cultures and times.

However, this situation is temporary. Kabbalah teaches us that in the World to Come, the souls of men and women will reunite, and they will merit divine goodness as one complete soul. This signifies that a woman is a partner in all the commandments her husband performs, just as the husband is a partner in all the commandments his wife performs, and together they merit to reach their spiritual completion.

The Torah was very considerate of women, and since women care for their families and children and look after them, the Torah therefore exempted them from many commandments that would make their lives difficult.

For this reason, women are not obligated to study Torah, although they receive reward for listening to Torah lessons, and they even share in the reward for their husbands’ Torah study (Rabbi Akiva stated regarding his Torah study: "What is mine and what is yours - it is hers" - meaning, it is for my wife).