Not only was women’s role in life and in the fam-
ily viewed as different from that of men, but the
Bible also regards their basic character as different.
While Adam is shown as God-fearing and obedi-
ent, disobedience is attributed to women: it was
Eve who ate from the forbidden tree in the Garden
of Eden, and convinced Adam to follow suit,
whereupon their eyes were opened and they gained
wisdom. While this is usually presented as an act of
sacrilege and disobedience, it can also be inter-
preted as independent thinking and desire for
knowledge. This dichotomy was further developed
in later periods, attributing to women earthly, sen-
sual, lascivious behavior in contrast to men’s spiri-
tual character. It is the man who is described as
innocent, and he is warned to beware of the evil
temptress who seeks to beguile him.
Over time, additional negative qualities were
attributed to women: they were said to be greedy,
eavesdroppers, lazy, and jealous, as well as queru-
lous, garrulous, and “light-minded,” namely, frivo-
lous, inconsistent, and unstable. It was also claimed
that “ten measures of speech descended to the
earth; women took nine.” Moreover, women were
feared as a source of temptation, and it was specif-
ically stated that their voice, hair, and legs are a sex-
ual incitement. Consequently, various restrictions
were placed on women, though none on men, and
nowhere was it explained why men are so easily
tempted, while women are not. Thus, women were
forbidden to sing and dance in public in front of
non-kin men. Besides, the hair of married women
had to be covered as well as most of their body. In
many regions under Muslim rule, Jewish women
used the veil, similar to Muslim women, but at
times there were differences in color and shape.
During the Safavid period in Iran (1501–1731),
Jewish women had to sew bells on the bottom of
their veil to warn Muslims of their arrival. During
the nineteenth century, they had to cover their faces
with a black piece of fabric, contrary to the white
used by Muslim women. In Kurdistan, they were
not allowed to cover their faces, when this was a
sign of looseness and immorality, and their veils
were of two colors. These practices ended in Iran in
1936 with the official unveiling of women.
The general attitude toward women in later peri-
ods is reflected in the wording of the benediction
recited daily by men, praising God for not having
made them women. From the context one might
conclude that the thanks are for the greater op-
portunities men have because they have to carry
out more precepts (mitzvot) than women: while
men have to carry out all precepts, women are
exempt from precepts that depend upon a specific
overview 317time. Still, this acknowledges that Judaism provides
women with fewer opportunities to fully carry out
religious obligations. Moreover, the prevalent in-
terpretation of the benediction is indeed that men
regard themselves fortunate for being born male
and not female, and that they view men as superior
to women.
In Biblical times, the three annual pilgrimages to
the Temple of Jerusalem were mandatory only for
men although women could accompany their hus-
bands. In post-Biblical times, when the synagogue
gradually replaced the Jerusalem Temple as the
center of religious worship, the status of women
regarding worship did not change and they could
not actively participate in the service. Moreover,
according to Maimonides, women should not
be appointed to any communal office. This had
physical and spiritual-educational implications for
women. As time passed and procedural regulations
became more elaborate, a special section was set up
in the synagogue for women who wanted to be
present at the service and observe it. This section
(≠ezrat nashim) was often in a balcony or at the rear
of the auditorium, constructed in such a way that
allowed women to watch and hear the service with-
out letting the men see them lest they be distracted
during their prayers. Synagogues in Muslim coun-
tries, especially in rural areas, were slower to add a
women’s section. Women, though, used to clean the
synagogue and its vicinity and viewed it as a great
privilege. Women also composed special songs in
the vernacular in honor of the synagogue and the
Torah scroll and regarded it as a special omen to
kiss the latter or other sacred objects. Women also
used sacred objects as talismans guaranteeing
health and longevity for themselves and for family
members.
Since women were not obliged to participate in
the service in the synagogue and had no role in the
temporal and religious administration of the com-
munity, the latter did not regard it as mandatory to
provide formal education for women. There were,
however, girls who received formal education, usu-
ally when their brothers were tutored at home or
when they had no brothers and their fathers were
learned men who often taught them themselves.
Some communities had religious primary schools
that allowed young girls to study together with lit-
tle boys before they reached puberty, and in any
case only for two or three years. But the general
practice was not to provide formal education for
girls. One of the most radical statements in this
regard was “whosoever teaches his daughter the
Torah it is as though he teaches her lasciviousness.”
Consequently, girls were educated at home by their