Stern College for Women - Kochaviah Yearbook (New York, NY)

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CLASS OF 1976 Debra Ellen Levine Abramchik Judiac Studies N.C.S.Y. Advisor, Dirshu, Big Sister. Jacalyn Nan Adler Elementary Education Big Sister, Undergraduate, Association of Future Teachers, Yearbook.

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The Talmudic period offers us the picture of the compassionate, dedicated woman as a wife, mother and businesswoman. In order to support the husband who dedicated himself to learning Torah, she was needed to supply the extra income necessary to keep her family fed. The woman looked for jobs that could offer her the money she needed without interfering with the education and guidance of her children. Because Jews were prohibited from owning land and from par- ticipating in guilds and trades, money len- ding was a primary occupation. For this field, an essential knowledge of reading, writing and arithmetic was necessary. We can assume, therefore, that the woman was fairly educated in these matters. Isidore Eps- tein, in an article entitled The Jewish Women in the Responsa states the following: Work to her was a sacred ideal, an ideal nurtured around the domestic hearth ... to contribute to the preservation of the lamp of Judaism by enabling her husband to tend to the light of Torah . . . Responding to this call she felt within her, the Jewish wife gave of herself simply and humbly to the service of what she considered the highest ideal . . . In essence, the literature reflects that through her dedication to preserve Judaism, the Talmudic woman created a place for herself in the community. In order to main- tain the family, she was forced to deal with the community at large as well. Her position in the home included her adjustment in society as a competent businesswoman. While the Talmud covers approximately a 750 year period, certain themes about women recur throughout, leading us to assume they are characteristic of women in general and not of one particular woman or time period. Interestingly enough, the literature sug- gests that women were educated in secular as well as Talmudic knowledge. Although the stress was not on complete mastery of the Torah and prophets, it was noted that the in- timate details of kashruth, Shabbat and festival regulations, as well as nidah laws had to be ingested and become an integral part of her existence. It is clear that the woman of this time period did not see this as being an inferior position in their own sphere of duties. What is clearly evident is that through the deep commitment of the women toward their families, traditional Judaism was an active and perpetuating lifestyle. The mood of the seventies tell us that woman must also, as an individual, satisfy her needs which stem from personal abilities and capabilities. A woman may find that developing a profession in the secular world may not conflict with her obligation to her family. Perhaps because of her fulfillment in other areas, she would be a more successful wife and mother. This is the conflict we face. The choice that is made at this point in our lives will be of universal significance to the preservation of traditional Judaism for the generations to come. Nima H. Adlerblum, in the Elan Vital of the Jewish Woman, beautifully sums up the destiny of the Jewish woman. There is something peculiar to the Jewish woman which distinguishes her from the rest of womankind. The Jewish woman not only has to live, but to live Jewishly; not only to carry her own life, but also that of her people. The blending of her life with that of the Jewish vision constitutes the entelechy, that is the highest form of Jewish womanhood. Her immediate flow of being carries with it the past and all its memories and the future with all its hopes and pro- blems. She is born with a destiny and with a consciousness of it. 3 Dale Leslie Eichenbaum

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Riva Alper English % $m Deena E. Becker I x f Biology Big Sister, T.A.C. 1 ft 5