I heard a Rabbi on line, saying that the "glass ceiling" made for woman's learning is a SOCIAL CONSTRUCT with NO BASIS in Halacha.
The unmistakable conclusion I came to was that either he was drinking when he said it, I was drinking when I heard it - or both.
There is a Mishna limiting the learning of women. A Gemara as well. The Rambam paskens that way. So does the Shulchan Aruch. And many teshuvos have been written about it.
So the Honorable Rabbi [who is no Am Ha-aretz and knows better] must have been drinking when he said it, so we won't hold him responsible. Or again - maybe it was me. When I heard it I was on my fourth cup of tea for the day, so that is pretty heavy drinking!!
Now, some people say that the Halacha has changed and in our day and age girls should learn whatever boys are learning. One can argue for or against. But the reality is that the issue is VERY Halachic and not just a question of social influences and preferences. This Rabbi raises millions and millions for his programs which include women's learning, so it would be hard for him to admit that the Rambam and Shulchan Aruch forbade women from certain types of Talmud Torah - but that is the fact.
So in life, first we have to get our facts straight - then argue.
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It is also significant to note the term he used "glass ceiling". What does that mean? Who has glass ceilings??
I looked up the definition. Here it is:
A glass ceiling is a metaphor used to represent an invisible barrier that keeps a given demographic from rising beyond a certain level in a hierarchy. The metaphor was first coined by feminists in reference to barriers in the careers of high-achieving women.
In other words, we [i.e. the men] forbid the women from learning to prevent them from advancing.
That is a terribly incriminating accusation which I protest. We LOVE our women and want nothing more than for them to advance in all areas of life. Just Chazal didn't feel that learning in-depth Gemara was the means for women to achieve greatness.
