One of my favorite classes in undergrad was called “Reading the
Bible from the Margins”. As a feminist, I am familiar with the critique (and
indeed the raging anger) at the traditional norms that have oppressed women and
that stem from patriarchal interpretations of the Bible. I am closely familiar
with the oppressive gendered norms that are so prevalent in the Christian
religion. I also recognize traditionally oppressive gendered norms in other
religions as well. However, I have been taking another look at the Bible with a
fascination of the textual twists towards those in the margins – often women –
living in certain realities at the time the words were written. The Hebrew language
is a language that holds multiple meanings in English. The stories in the Bible
often have more to say than what meets the eye. Biblical words have been passed
down from generation to generation to teach the children who teach their
children. These living words are more beautiful than any geographical or
architectural or cultural design I can think of.
Of all the cultures and religions I have learned about, Judaism
seems to have a deeply founded relationship with both the written and the
spoken word. Even in the early days, Moses received tablets with words
inscribed on them for the people. Whether it is true or not that he actually
had the tablets, this emphasis on the written word is interesting. Oz-Salzberger
and Oz write:
The grandeur of
ancient Israel is not a matter of cities and kings. Material life may well have
been crude, buildings rough-hewn, and clothing course. Solomon’s splendid
palace may well be a flimsy abode, a fib or a fable. In all honesty, ancient
Jewish architecture is not a major point of pride.
But
the texts are palatial.
Genesis, Isaiah,
and Proverbs are our pyramids, our Chinese wall, our Gothic cathedrals. They
stand undemolished in the flow of time. They have fed a plethora of offspring: from
Mishnah to Haskalah, from medieval Sephardic poetry to Modern Hebrew
Literature, from Gotthold Ephraim Lessing to William Faulker, all were able to
drink from those deep wells. (p. 113)
Those of us who grew up on the words in the Hebrew Bible are
offspring of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Some of us may not have genetic ties to
Abraham, but we are children of the texts. My fascination with words in
religion stems from my Christian upbringing. Christianity is the religion I am
most familiar with and is part of the lens I use to view religion and the
written word. Christianity is part of my cultural perspective. My parents and
my childhood upbringing ensured that. However, I also earned a Masters degree in
Women’s and Gender Studies and grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Feminism is
another part of my lens that I use to view the written word. I love women and
am fascinated with how women are portrayed in writing and how women are in
reality – which can be so beautifully varied and diverse.
Recently, my sister, my mother and I watched a mainstream movie,
“Snow White and the Huntsman”. It is a tale made popular by the Brothers Grimm
and by Disney. It is a story of a virginal white young woman who is kissed by a
handsome prince and wakes up from a cruel spell put upon her by an evil
step-mother. So often the heroines in American culture today fit into a set
type. I grew up with stories about beautiful young heroines who become
princesses like Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, and Jasmine. Disney makes a fortune
on perpetuating the commercialization of princesses. Young girls grow up on
stories that teach them to desire to be young, beautiful and snag a handsome
prince – which is so disconnected from reality. As our girls grow up, they
watch stories on TV of young pop stars rising to fame and fortune because of
their beauty. Another important element to these stories is that there are
rarely older women who are positive role models for these young girls. The evil
witches or evil queens are typically the antagonist in the stories. Their
mother’s are usually dead. In pop culture, one can only imagine how mothers
feel about their daughter’s over-sexualization on TV. But, the mothers of the pop-stars
are usually silent; hidden behind the scenes.
And what about the biblical heroines written in stories that
I grew up with? While there are strong, quite valid, feminist critiques against
the patriarchal norms in the Bible, I find something refreshing in the biblical
text. The women portrayed are varied and diverse. In light of the dominant
secular American culture, I find the diversity of heroines is striking: Sarah,
Hannah, Deborah, Hagaar. There are prostitutes, old barren women who become
pregnant, slave heroines and manipulative queens which are among my favorite
heroines in the Bible. I also admire the dark nameless beauty in the Song of
Songs, and in the New Testament, the preferred sister Mary who sat and learned
from her teacher while her sister Martha anxiously cleaned the house. In
patriarchal texts and born into patriarchal societies, the numbers of diverse
women that are named and their stories that are included in the Bible are many.
Oz-Salzberger and Oz write:
They do not follow
the Greek pattern—either goddess or mortal heroine. They do not follow the
medieval pattern—either saint or prostitute. They do not follow the European
pattern—aristocracy, bourgeoisie, or lower class. They do not follow the
British pattern—upstairs or downstairs—although their tents are sometimes as
intricate as a manor house. The Bible’s women are so variegated that they
simply inhabit a full human spectrum. (Jews and Words, p. 70-71)
In the written word, as compared to pop-stars on TV and in
movies, physical beauty is only found in descriptions and in the mind of the
reader. There is no concern about weight or wrinkles or gray hair in the
written word. The heroines are heroines because of what they do and what they
say. I prefer the stories and the lessons of these famous female heroes that
have passed down through the generations from Abraham to us today.
The traditional view of women can be offensive and anger provoking.
Maimonides wrote in Mishneh Torah, “For
there is nothing more attractive for a woman than to sit in the corner of her
home, as ‘All the glory of the king’s daughter is within’.” He stated that
women should remain in the home and not go out and about more than twice a
month. This appears to be a very sexist, chauvinistic text. But, I prefer to
interpret his insights and the quoted Psalm 45:13, in a different way. I like
the idea that all the glory of the daughters is within. But, I don’t think this
means in the home in the traditional sense. When I think of “within,” I think
of an internal state of being. The beauty within is the glory within a person’s
heart, soul and mind. The beauty of women is within. This interpretation is relieving
to me in a culture soaked with idealized external beauty types. Also, the
cornerstone is an important part of a building - the most important part. If a
woman’s place is found within, in the corner of the home, I would argue that
this means in the key place of the foundation of where she resides. By reside,
I mean as her place in the family or in society. With this interpretation, the
woman is no longer a subjugated housewife sitting in a corner of a home, but
actually, the most beautiful pillar of the foundation of the people. She sits
in the cornerstone, the key to the foundation, and her beauty is not fleeting
physical beauty, but an eternal beauty within. All the varied women heroines in
the Bible from the prostitute to barren elderly women show strength, a claim to
what is their right, and a chutzpah within. And that is true beauty.
Women are often (not always) the purveyors of culture. Men
have historically been absent with the children and only teach by example of
hard work or absence. Women (mothers, day care providers, nannies, etc.) tell
their children stories. Women have historically taught children by getting
their hands dirty (literally with diapers and figuratively with lessons). But,
I see a disruption in these traditional gender norms. Women and men are taking
new roles in the family. I have focused on women, but as for the men, the last
verse in the Old Testament (the last of the Nevi'im in the Hebrew Bible) says this: “He will restore the hearts of the fathers
to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I
will not come and smite the land with a curse.” (Malachi 4:6) This is an
interesting message for a society filled with single mothers and absent
fathers. If we take the words as a critique of society as is, the words have
much to teach. Both men’s and women’s honor can be found in the hidden corners
within these perennial pyramids of biblical text. Words were there in the beginning
and will be here to the end.
