According to Kabbala a woman can be called up for the 7th aliya, since it corresponds with the feminine aspect. Men would never go for it since it breaks the boundaries to include women, but women would not go for it either, since it excludes them from the other aliyas. 

Similarly is the halacha in (at least the Alter Rebbe's) shulchan aruch that a woman or a child can be counted as a tenth in a minyan. Same thing both the women and the men don't go for this halacha. (I actually had a case like this and asked a Rav who said no).

The problem with this approach is that it ignores the divine intellect behind the laws. If you lean towards saying that we can change the law, since it's man made. Congratulations! You've bought into the reformed movement. If you say that it's from Hashem, but Hashem is wrong. Congrats! You're an apikores. I have an even harder time swallowing that. 

The best approach seems to be to recognize the laws as truly divine while recognizing the clear and practical barriers to implemention. Also, in terms of halacha itself, find a Rabbi you believe in, who you trust to be even-handed and truthful without going off the path of truth.

I found this in the Rebbe, which is one of the reasons I admire him do much.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The 16 expressions of forgiveness

'Ein bal ha'nes makir be'niso' according to the Mittler Rebbe