On a comment thread belonging to my friend the RenReb, Gil Student said: REQUEST: As someone who learns all night and then sleeps most of the day on Shavuos, I'd like to see a woman's perspective on the experience. Not a feminist view but what a traditional woman goes through and thinks about on Shavuos.
To which, yours truely replied:
We want the FEMINIST view-point, because I know what the TRADITIONAL woman thinks. The traditional woman says: "I am my husband's footstool. How wonderful that he sits and drinks coffee with his friends all through the night, leaving me alone to struggle with the kids the next day. What a blessing. What a privelage."
And it never once occurs to her that (a) her husband isn't really learning; (b) if he is learning its not worth much at 3 in the morning; (c) some authorities frown deeply on the whole practice; (d) she's a human being, too.
Anyway, if you want the Traditional view, why are you asking Renny? Among the Orthodox Jews there is no bigger feminist online
