porting on what a legal authority instructed them indicates that the matter
under discussion is a woman’s issue. As a rule, women are cited as authorities
for the transmission of halakhic opinions of important rabbinic figures only in
the context of commandments and deeds performed specifically by women.^31
There is one similar case, in which the issue discussed concerns men’s care
for children; this discussion is in many ways the exception that proves the rule.
When discussing soiled clothes on the Sabbath, a case is brought in which a
father is dirtied by his child while holding him in the synagogue.^32 The source
provides explicit instructions, specifying the circumstances under which this
man can clean himself. For our study, however, we should note that this case
of men caring for young children (in the synagogue) is a singular exception.^33
More important, certain groups, such as H·asidei Ashkenaz, discouraged men
from taking an active role in caring for children if it might in any way interfere
with their obligations of worship.^34
Young children and their relationships with their fathers are usually men-
tioned in discussions of the noise and dirt generated by them. For example,
when discussing the customs of R. Judah b. Isaac, one of Rashi’s teachers who
died during the First Crusade (1096), it is told:
Once a child was sitting on Rabbi’s shoulder in the synagogue. When the time
came to read the Shema, he asked that the child be removed since children are
frequently in the dirt and it is improper to read Shema near them.^35The idea that toddlers were dirty is found in other references to young children
as well.^36 A source in Sefer H·asidim discusses the problem of dealing with a
child who urinated on his/her father’s lap in the synagogue.^37
These sources indicate that while young children were present in the syna-
gogue, the tendency was to remove them and the dirt they made. This accords
with the division of labor between the parents. Women were considered re-
sponsible for caring for small children. Until the boys reached the age of edu-
cation, fathers were expected to devote themselves to more important tasks. At
the same time, it is clear that many fathers were drawn to tend to their chil-
dren, and the instructions that they must not do so were designed to restrain
them.^38 In part, this was an expression of respect for the synagogue and its sanc-
tity. The complaints voiced by the rabbis are no different from those of preach-
ers and pastors concerning young children who attended church services.^39
Taking care of children was considered part of women’s wisdom, just like
birth and its complexities. This understanding was shared by Jews and Chris-
tians alike.^40 A case brought before Gregory IX in 1229 exemplifies this shared
Jewish-Christian understanding of the nature of parenting. The pope was asked
about a couple from Strasbourg who argued over the religious education and
identity of their four-year-old son. In this case, the father had converted to
Christianity while the mother had remained Jewish. The reasons the mother
provided for retaining custody of her son, arguments she hoped would im-