The battle between Yavan and the Jewish people was not the clash of two completely different cultures with no common ground. We had to encounter Yavan in order to take out their "holy sparks" and bring them back to a place of kedusha. On of these "sparks" is the respect and reverence they had for philosophies and philosophy. It was Socrates who said that the unexamined life is not worth living [then he went into an alleyway and shot his brains out. I made that up].
What is philosophy?
Some definitions
- The discipline concerned with questions of how one should live (ethics); what sorts of things exist and what are their essential natures (metaphysics); what counts as genuine knowledge (epistemology); and what are the correct principles of reasoning (logic) (Wikipedia)investigation of the nature, causes, or principles of reality, knowledge, or values, based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods (American Heritage Dictionary)the study of the ultimate nature of existence, reality, knowledge and goodness, as discoverable by human reasoning (Penguin English Dictionary)the rational investigation of questions about existence and knowledge and ethics (WordNet)the search for knowledge and truth, especially about the nature of man and his behavior and beliefs (Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary)the rational and critical inquiry into basic principles (Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia)the study of the most general and abstract features of the world and categories with which we think: mind, matter, reason, proof, truth, etc. (Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy)careful thought about the fundamental nature of the world, the grounds for human knowledge, and the evaluation of human conduct (The Philosophy Pages)
We all revere philosophers and philosophy. Chazal were philosophers. So were many of the later rabbis. They were brilliant people who combined their brilliance with an ancient time tested tradition and keen spiritual intuition to form a healthy, balanced world view.
I read that in Stern College there is a feminists club. Feminism is a philosophy. It relates to the nature of femininity, relationships, the family structure, our purpose in this world etc. etc. It also runs counter to our tradition. Not that the Torah is against women. In many cases the halacha favors women over men. Anybody who ever learns Maseches Ksubos sees this very clearly. But these feminists claim that the Torah discriminates against women and they are going to change things.
So the Greeks made decrees against Bris Milah, Shabbos etc. and the feminists make decrees against the traditional davening in shul. I don't see much of a difference. [Besides the fact that the Greeks enforced it - but then again, because of the feminists, shuls are forced to have almost non-existent mechitzos which make it impossible for many Jews to daven there].
The Greeks made a decree that every kallah must first sleep with the local mayor [תיבעל להגמון תחילה] and the feminists also erode the structure of the Jewish family by encouraging women to develop their careers at the expense of building family. Not an exact comparison but both are insidious. [In the 60's the feminists encouraged women to recklessly sleep around because why should they be different than men. Until the ladies realized that it's makes them depressed and miserable].
Is there anything wrong with our grandmothers and their mothers all the way back in time who dedicated themselves to raising their families?? Is there any job MORE noble than raising Jewissh children? But that is the poison of feminism, putting in women's minds that having children is just being an accomplice to male domination.
Stern College. 19-20 year old girls. Do they know enough to rebel against tradition? Do they understand Torah better than Rav Moshe Feinstein who called feminism apikorsus and a rebellion against Hashem?? Or maybe they don't believe in Torah Mi-sinai and its transmitters? How do they know it is not true? The Torah was given 3,300 years ago and they were only born slightly before the turn of this century so they can't say that they were at Har Sinai in Sivan 2448 and the Torah wasn't given.
When I read these articles by these [angry - so much anger] women, I see a mixture of a little Torah together with all of the movies, TV shows, tweets, face book pages, New York Times articles etc. that they have seen in their lives. That cocktail and much more constitutes the formation of their worldview. But they don't present it that way. They present it as genuinely and authentically Jewish. Master of the Universe - you understand Torah better than all of the great Sages until our day?? How much do you actually know?? What are your credentials??
A churban.
It is no accident that the Chanukah miracle was finding a PURE vial of oil. Pure. No shmutzy Greek hands involved. ALL OF US are products of our environment and faulty character traits which color our world view. That is why the WISEST thing to do is to listen and learn from the pure people who haven't been tainted, who can see everything from the perspective of Torah and ratzon Hashem.
SWEETEST FRIENDS!!! Let us return to lives of purity. Where a woman is a woman and a man is a man. Where the HIGHEST VALUE is raising a Jewish family [נר איש וביתו]. Where a woman doesn't feel inferior because she takes care of her husband, cooks him dinner, washes his clothing and pleases him you know where. [Since many husbands work 10 plus hour days to support their families and devote much of the rest of their time to being with their wife and children, it is a good for the ladies, too]. Where we understand that being a devoted mother counts more than being a lawyer for a high powered law firm. If a women feels a need to work that is fine - but she can't forget what really matters. A life without anger. Just LOVE!!! Because ultimately - that is what we ALL want. Men and women alike. We desperately desire to love and to be loved. [If you don't feel it then it is because you are like most people who unconsciously suppress this critical need because the world is TOO DARN BUSY to love. BUSY-BUSY-BUSY. Woops - gotta text somebody. See ya].
I have so much more to say - but I am feeling SO SICK!!! [Not from feminism but from my virus and my a"veiros" which are clearly related!!!].
Maybe another time - unless I get death threats for this post.
