Objectives:
For the participants to: - Become acquainted with excerpts from the Mishnah, Tosefta and Talmud that deal with women
- Reflect upon the texts and reinterpret them
- Establish connections between these excerpts and the role of women in the present day.
Outline:
The teacher commences the activity by stating that it proposes a studious and respectful approach to excerpts from the Talmud that deal with women.
He/she tells the group that the rabbinical texts comprise a rich and varied conception of how these men looked upon the female world, and that the Rabbis did not conceive of a single reality in this regard; instead, in the texts we discover multiple points of view and ways of understanding, learning about, and legislating the world of women in other ages. Next, he/she gives work assignments:
The participants are each handed a brief excerpt from the Mishnah, Tosefta, or Gemarah. (See resources 1 and 2). They are to:
- Read the half of the excerpt they have been given
- On the count of “3” they are to seek out their partner, the person with the other half of the excerpt.
- Together with their partner, go to the sector to which they think their phrase belongs (different “sectors” of the room are marked by signs bearing the following themes: “Women and Birth”; “Marriage, a Sacred Commitment”; “Husbands, an Issue Between Men and Women”). Thus, they are divided into three teams.
Each team is to: - Read the phrases
- Choose two phrases in disagreement with each other Think about which part of the two phrases they concur or disagree with
- Discuss their chosen phrases and their positions with regard to them.
Materials:
- Pieces of paper with half-phrases from classic Jewish texts (one per participant)
- Three signs with the following inscriptions: “Women and Birth”; “Marriage, a Sacred Commitment”; “Husbands, an Issue Between Men and Women”
- Blank sheets of paper
- Pens.
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