“A man who teaches his daughter Torah teaches her tiflut.” Mishna Sotah 3:4

The Hebrew word tiflut has been translated in a number of ways: foolishness, obscenity, frivolity, impropriety, even promiscuity. None of the translations are flattering. For generations, this language has been weaponized against women as proof that advanced Torah study for women is dangerous, inappropriate, and spiritually corrosive. But zoom out to read the statement in context, and an even more troubling picture emerges.

The Mishna’s discussion appears in the context of the sotah ritual, the biblical ordeal to which a woman was subjected when her husband suspected she was engaged in adultery. This is the context in which the rabbis debate whether a father should teach his daughter enough Torah to understand that certain merits might temporarily suspend the effects of the bitter waters. Ben Azzai states that a man is obligated to teach his daughter Torah, to which Rabbi Eliezer responds with the famous statement: “Whoever teaches his daughter Torah teaches her tiflut.” Which is to say: one should not teach a daughter enough Torah knowledge that it might help her navigate or mitigate the consequences of the sotah ordeal if she were ever accused of adultery. 

Setting aside that it is clear from this talmudic discussion that it was a common enough practice for fathers to teach their daughters Torah, the concern is not abstract opposition to women’s learning. The anxiety is that knowledge itself might allow a woman to understand, navigate, or potentially evade subjection to a degrading ritual designed........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)