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Men are from Mars, women are from Venus, according to one recent book. In Judaism, it might be said that men have all the obligations, and women – and children – only most of the obligations. But which obligations, exactly, do women have? There are a few general guidelines for this, but the truth is that this is a complex, case by case question. While we in the Conservative movement have in recent decades rendered this distinction moot by declaring our belief in egalitarianism, it is still instructive to see what mitzvot were considered by the Sages of the Talmud as incumbent upon all.
One example is mentioned in our portion, Vayelech. There we read of a ceremony called hakhel. Held every seven years at the conclusion of Sukkot, hakhel was apparently an opportunity for the entire community to come and learn from the priests the laws of the Torah. This was the only form of education in a society where written materials were rare and literacy far from universal.
In the Jerusalem Talmud, the Sages show that the obligation of hakhel was applied to everyone - men, women and even children. We read in tractate Hagigah 1:3:
It happened that Rabbi Joḥanan ben Beroqa and Rabbi Eleazar Ḥisma were walking from Yavneh to Lydda when they were visiting Rabbi Joshua in Peqi’in. He asked them, what was new today in the House of Study?
They said to him, we all are your students and drink from your waters.
He said to them, even so, it is impossible that there not be a new idea every day in the House of Study. Who stayed there over the Sabbath?
They said to him, Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah. (Yes, the same guy mentioned in the haggadah).
And what was his text? Assemble the people, men, women, and children. (Deuteronomy 31:11)
He started by saying, since men come to learn and women to listen, why do the children come?
It must be to give a reward to those who bring them.
He said to them, a generation is not orphaned which counts Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah among them.
Now, while we may not embrace the distinction between men and women, we can relate to the statement about children. We bring our young people to services, at a certain point, to help them master the statutory prayers. But even before that’s possible, we bring them to the synagogue because including them in the community as soon as possible strengthens us as a people. As we approach Yom Kippur, when we see our synagogues at “full strength”, we shouldn’t underestimate the value of “seeing” everyone – even those too young to participate yet.
- Rabbi Scott Hoffman
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