How Feminism Saved The Chareidim
I'm sure if you ask any chareidi Lakewooder if he's a feminist, the guy would look at you like you were nuts. You'd probably hear the guy mumble something about "kol kvoda bas melech pnima," and then walk away. In fact, when Harry Maryles recently discussed the brocha of "sheli asani isha," Lakewood Yid, of all people, quoted a Rambam with very strict standards of tznius for women, standards that haven't been observed for years.
The irony of the matter is, BMG would probably be a lot smaller if not for the feminist movement. The chareidim ought to give a big kudos to a lot of those pioneering women out there.
Think about it. Women are probably the biggest source of income in Lakewood. I mean, does everyone have a loaded father-in-law? I think not. In many cases, the wives are picking up the slack financially.
And in the 1950's culture, what lucrative jobs were available to women? Sure, they could teach in a bais yaakov, but that's not a big moneymaker. Especially the places that don't pay on time. Some people could've been secretaries, but there's not a whole lot of cash there either. Now, girls can go to law school, dental school, med school, they can go for accounting, finance - jobs that, for women, were unheard of years ago!
Another benefit is that feminism gives these girls a much broader opportunity to pursue their ambitions. When the woman is expected to be the breadwinner, she can pursue a career, while her husband, with his more flexible schedule, can tend to household chores.
This is also one of the reasons why very few chassidim are in kollel for more than a year or two. Very few chassidish women have great jobs. If you're principal of a girls' school, NOW that's a big deal! So then the husband's gotta put bread on the table.
Rav Miller, ZTL, was a traditionalist who believed that wives should be in the home. But in his world, of course, there would be 50, maybe 100 kollel guys in the whole Lakewood.
The irony of the matter is, BMG would probably be a lot smaller if not for the feminist movement. The chareidim ought to give a big kudos to a lot of those pioneering women out there.
Think about it. Women are probably the biggest source of income in Lakewood. I mean, does everyone have a loaded father-in-law? I think not. In many cases, the wives are picking up the slack financially.
And in the 1950's culture, what lucrative jobs were available to women? Sure, they could teach in a bais yaakov, but that's not a big moneymaker. Especially the places that don't pay on time. Some people could've been secretaries, but there's not a whole lot of cash there either. Now, girls can go to law school, dental school, med school, they can go for accounting, finance - jobs that, for women, were unheard of years ago!
Another benefit is that feminism gives these girls a much broader opportunity to pursue their ambitions. When the woman is expected to be the breadwinner, she can pursue a career, while her husband, with his more flexible schedule, can tend to household chores.
This is also one of the reasons why very few chassidim are in kollel for more than a year or two. Very few chassidish women have great jobs. If you're principal of a girls' school, NOW that's a big deal! So then the husband's gotta put bread on the table.
Rav Miller, ZTL, was a traditionalist who believed that wives should be in the home. But in his world, of course, there would be 50, maybe 100 kollel guys in the whole Lakewood.
5 Comments:
rav miller was the last example of daas torah. now all we've got is daas political gedolim who try to make the world frummer w/o using their sechel or daas torah.
Just curious...why isn't Eretz Yisroel on your mind?
Anon #1--I can list a few that I still have minor hope in, but don't know nearly enough about them to back it up. I might just sadly have to agree with your strong statement.
Anon #2--what does that have to do with anything?
Ike-(I can call you that, right?)
I think a lakewood guy would say Feminism is against the Torah. And when you talk about young women going for law, medicine, etc. you are not speaking of Lakewooders. Youre talking of ambitious Stern college girls. The Yeshivish are generally going for short hours, high-paying fields like Speech. They have courses that are jokes made for these types. Basically, their goals are: Kollel boy, babies, work little get paid a lot, and who cares about a real education?
Michelle- Of course they'd be opposed to feminism. But feminism has changed the face of the American workplace, and given women many more opportunities than just teaching and secretarial work. It has given many of them the opportunity to support a family.
And besides, there are some pretty ambitious yeshivish types out there. I know of one rebbi whose wife is a lawyer, and a kollel guy whose wife does computers. A lot of the BJJ girls will try to go to real colleges and get real degrees. And even PT, OT, computers, and speech weren't necessarily fields full of women years ago.
And sure, the girls with the rich parents can shop all day and not work a day in their life. But for the middle-to-lower-class kollel people, feminism is a blessing.
Michelle- Of course they'd be opposed to feminism. But feminism has changed the face of the American workplace, and given women many more opportunities than just teaching and secretarial work. It has given many of them the opportunity to support a family.
And besides, there are some pretty ambitious yeshivish types out there. I know of one rebbi whose wife is a lawyer, and a kollel guy whose wife does computers. A lot of the BJJ girls will try to go to real colleges and get real degrees. And even PT, OT, computers, and speech weren't necessarily fields full of women years ago.
And sure, the girls with the rich parents can shop all day and not work a day in their life. But for the middle-to-lower-class kollel people, feminism is a blessing.
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