Talmud Torah For Women

Those learning daf yomi learned the very interesting gemaros about teaching girls torah. He is the pask of the Rambam,

A woman who studies Torah will receive reward. However, that reward will not be [as great] as a man's, since she was not commanded [in this mitzvah]. Whoever performs a deed which he is not commanded to do, does not receive as great a reward as one who performs a mitzvah that he is commanded to do.

Even though she will receive a reward, the Sages commanded that a person should not teach his daughter Torah, because most women cannot concentrate their attention on study, and thus transform the words of Torah into idle matters because of their lack of understanding.

[Thus,] our Sages declared: "Whoever teaches his daughter Torah is like one who teaches her tales and parables." This applies to the Oral Law. [With regard to] the Written Law: at the outset, one should not teach one's daughter. However, if one teaches her, it is not considered as if she was taught idle things.

Some commentary from chabad.org:

The first halachah of this chapter relates that women are not obligated to study Torah. However,...
A woman who studies Torah will receive reward - for her efforts.
However, that reward will not be [as great] as a man's, since she was not commanded [in this mitzvah]. Whoever performs a deed which he is not commanded to do, does not receive as great a reward as one who performs a mitzvah that he is commanded to do. - Tosafot, Kiddushin 31a explains that a person who is commanded to perform a mitzvah will be more conscious of his obligation and try to fulfill it more fastidiously than a person who performs the same act voluntarily.

Chassidic thought explains the concept differently. The Hebrew word mitzvah (commandment) shares the same root as the word tzavtah (connection). Fulfilling the commandments establishes a transcendent bond with Godliness. In contrast, a good deed that is not commanded, no matter how worthy, remains an act of man and does not establish such a connection.
Even though she will receive a reward, the Sages commanded that a person should not teach his daughter Torah - There is no explicit source for the Rambam's statements, though one may draw such a conclusion from Sotah 20a. That passage relates that one prominent sage, ben Azzai, did not share this opinion.

As mentioned in the commentary on Halachah 1, the Rabbis require a woman to study the laws governing the mitzvot which she is obligated to fulfill. Based on that decision, many commentaries explain that the Rambam's statements refer only to intensive study of the subject matter described as Gemara in the previous halachot.

because most women - Commentaries have mentioned that by adding the word "most," the Rambam implies that if a father sees that his daughter is capable of such study, he should afford her the opportunity.

cannot concentrate their attention on study, and thus transform the words of Torah into idle matters because of their lack of understanding. - Kin'at Eliyahu notes the contrast between the first clause, "A woman who studies," and the command the Sages gave "a father." He differentiates between study that a woman undertakes voluntarily, which is considered desirable, and a father's training his daughter in matters which are not necessarily relevant to her.

[Thus,] our Sages declared: - Sotah 21b
"Whoever teaches his daughter Torah is like one who teaches her tales and parables." - Our translation is based on the Rambam's Commentary on the Mishnah (Sotah 3:3). From Sotah 21b, it would appear that tiflos (translated as “idle matters”) could be understood as "romance." The Meiri renders it as "vanity," explaining that a woman who has studied will boast of her achievements.
This applies to the Oral Law. [With regard to] the Written Law: at the outset, one should not teach one's daughter. However, if one teaches her, it is not considered as if she was taught idle things. - Though the Rambam's statements are quoted in the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De'ah 246:6), the source for his statements has been questioned.

Some point to the Mishnah, Nedarim 3:3, which, in passing, mentions a daughter's study of the Written Law. However, the Rambam's own text of that Mishnah lacks the words "or daughter." Others point to Chaggigah 3a (and more specifically, to the Jerusalem Talmud, ibid. 1:1), which describes the reading of the Torah by the king during the Hakhel celebration, which women were also required to attend. Nevertheless, there is a difference between study of the Written Law in its entirety and hearing the reading of a few inspirational passages. (See Taz 246:4.)

In this context, it might be noted that the Tur's text of the Rambam reverses these statements and mentioned teaching women the Oral Law as preferable to the Written Law. This can easily be reconciled with the opinions mentioned above, which require a woman to learn the laws governing the mitzvot she is obligated to fulfill. In contrast, the Written Law is a less closely defined field of study. There, a greater possibility exists that a woman who is not gifted may misinterpret the teachings.

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My thought on contemporary matters:

The heter to teach women Torah intensively is based on the premise that the only way to keep girls religious in our times is to give them a more broad Jewish eduction than they received in the past. But that does not mean that they should be studying like men. The goal is not Torah for Torah's sake [as it is for males] but more as a stop-gap measure to keep them on the straight and narrow path. The notion that boys and girls should receive the same education is not a model that would work [as I can attest to after over 2 decades of being in Jewish education] nor is it included in the heter of most [or all] gedolei Torah. 

Let our girls be girls that turn into women, holy Jewish wives and mothers and leave the heavy scholastic involvement in Torah to those who are commanded. Those girls who have a thirst for more and more Torah have ample opportunities to fill it in our age of cyber-space and mass Torah dissemination. But we can never forget our unique tasks.

Bruce Jenner is one too many such people on earth וד"ל.