Naaseh v'Nishma 3 - Cross Currents

In the Introduction to this series we referred to this article -

Women and Talmud Study | Cross-Currents

http://www.cross-currents.com/archives/2010/11/02/women-and-talmud-study-a-hashkafic-perspective/

Written by R Hershel Grossman. [RHG]

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Here is RHG's point as understood via MY paradigm

Women are excluded from that part of Torah which is throughly theoretical

Only Male Israelites are enjoined in participating in this spiritual exercise known as Torah Lishma. To RHG, any woman going there, would be evading her duties and actually undermining this function. [Maybe RHG would say any man having the maternal joy following childbirth
would also be crossing a boundary]

Note: We may also quibble and instead say that while ALL women should be discouraged, yet SOME individual women may emerge as exceptional cases.

Furthermore, this Torah Lishma is pure theory and represents a profound spiritual experience. This is akin to the spiritual high attained EG by Hassidim when experienced musical rapture while singing or dancing.

RHG has designated this pre-Naaseh Halachah l'maaseh as "Shulchan Aruch", and the Theoretical Torah Lishma as "Talmud". If we take this designations less literally, we can both agree in principle and quibble over the specifics - which I plan to do BE"H, [that is agree with RHG's paradigm but offer slightly different applications.]

Continuing to map out My thesis as helping to offer a rationale for RHG

Naaseh includes SA and applies to men and women equally

Nishma includes theoretical Torah [aka Talmud or Torah Lishma] and is associated with men only [or at least primarily]

Torah Lishma is NOT academics, it is a teachnique for experiencing a Litvisher form of "hisbonenus" and produces a spiritual ecstacy. It's NOT a Torah equivalent of a PhD, it's more a Torah equivalent of LSD [apologies to Timothy Leary -smile-]

It's a genuine high, and maybe likened to a form of d'veiqut, although AIUI RHG is basing himself upon the Nefesh HaChaim which eschews Hassidic d'veiqut.

Thus, we have RHG's as explained by a RRW-Nishma paradigm

Shalom
RRW