There has been a lot of buzz on the Internet recently about women's talmud study. The latest article is written by a gemara teacher in Stern College. He says [among other things] that over 90 percent of the students don't sign up for the gemara class. I don't know how much of the last 10 percent does. Five percent? Two percent? Very few. And of those who do - how many are serious enough to continue when they leave college? Very close to zero.
So this is my suggestion....
This will sound radical so hold on tight [and it will also probably be a run on sentence].
Since ANYWAY the Shulchan Aruch [246/6 and Rambam as well] forbids women from learning gemara [based on the gemara that men are so insistent on teaching them - get it? The gemara says not to teach women gemara and the response is to teach them gemara anyway] and women aren't interested in learning gemara [for the most part] and the reason given to teach them was to save them from assimilation [as this was the reason the Beis Yaakov movement was started] but today no girls are going off the derech because they don't learn gemara and there is so much Torah that is much more relevant to their lives than gemara - why don't we just drop the idea???
Let's teach girls..... Chumash. Neviim. Kesuvim. Halacha. Mussar. Chasidus. Jewish History. Lashon Hakodesh. Siddur. Philosophy [known in some circles as "hashkafa"]. That will keep them awfully busy and provide them a strong spiritual foundation. If they don't know whether אש is משום חציו or משום ממונו or whether עד זומם למפרע הוא נפסל or מכאן ולהבא הוא נפסל nothing bad will happen to them or the Jewish people. If there is an exceptional girl who is chalishing to learn gemara she can find a Rav and a heter and will live happily ever after. But for the masses - it is really not necessary.
Fortunately - my recommendation has already been implemented in every Beis Yaacov in the world [of which I am aware].
