So last week I was depressed, mostly about my job situation which is pretty crappy. In fact I was so depressed (the most since my broken engagement) that the only thing that could take me out of my stupor was some learning, I know sounds kind of weird, but for me the only thing that really removes depression when I cannot ride my bike or hike, due to the fact it was raining and was late at night, is some good old Torah.
So I hopped on over to my neighbors house to chop me some torah and unfortunately for me they had some women’s chumash class going on, so I had no one to learn with. If it was a bit earlier I probably would have just called up one of my kollel buddies and asked for some chavrusa time. So I just learned some Bitachon stuff by myself.
Enter in the first futuristic yeshiva which was recently started by Rabbi Brovender. The Web Yeshiva is the first fully interactive online yeshiva with classes that can be watched and participated in real time. For us folks who live “out of town” this is especially exciting. Imagine being on a road trip and logging onto the net and being able to join a shuir in the middle of nowhere?
I am all about the 2 week free trial, if only they offered a free time life music of the 60’s, or some kitchen appliance along with that. So anyways, I think it rocks, or maybe that’s just because I live in the middle of nowhere and always have trouble making it to specified timed shiurim. Click here for the Web Yeshiva
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{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
How do they know it’s not some lady taking a men’s Gemara III class under the alias of Chaim?
learning always cheers me up, too.
and about that “web yeshiva” – technology is amazing. always expanding opportunities.
First of all they have women’s classes as well. And who cares if its a man or women, men and women learn the same stuff anyway unless your one of those folks who doesn’t think women should learn.
Math: It is interesting how folks can embrace the net rather then bash it and see what happens. Torah is learnt and shidduchs are made all through the power of the net.
then why not offer the same classes for men and women?? Why don’t they have a women’s Gemara III class?
No clue, but that is interesting because Brovenders was always an interesting seminary because the girls learned gemara, and in most sects for some reason that is a no-no.
The only major group I know that the women learn gemara is Luabvitchers.
I also think it’s encouraging that there are opportunities for Jewish learning on the net, such as this online yeshiva. I know that it is encouraging to be able to go chat with a rabbi or look up answers to your Jewish questions that are bugging you at 3am. This could be encouraging to someone who does not want to move away to attend yeshiva, but gives him a way to do it from the comfort of his own home!
What about HER, math girly? But, gives HER a way to do it from the comfort from HER own home, now that we’re on the subject of women learning the same subjects as men.
I didn’t look at the site too closely earlier – but it says that there are men’s and women’s programs. I’m sorry I wasn’t “PC” enough for you in my statement… I’m pro-women’s education, just to set the story straight.
I am sorry that I am still stuck on the centuries way of speaking in Masculine, I am removed from College and the hippies/treehuggers that I bide my time with are too laid back to care about such miniscule things as referring to things in masculine.
Your welcome to write aq guest post- as long as it has some humor- about the frum community and their refusal to refer to things in the feminine.
Barnard???
Are you asking if I attend Barnard or are you kidding?
I go to school in Washington, DC.
To think, I almost went to Smith – then I really wouldn’t be able to get away with only saying “he”..
No not you- the other girl who singed in as Anonymous.
But if you went to Smith you would be in Northampton home to the best record shops within 2 hours of my house.
Close, but I go to Simmons College in Boston.
i usually just say ‘they’ as opposed he or she even though i might be talking about one person. only one of my friends seemed to notice as it confused her, thats when i actually realized i do it.
If I went to Smith, I would be tagged with the stereotype of being a treehugging hippie lesbian for the rest of my life. That said, my cousin’s wife and my aunt both went to Smith.
I wish I went to school in the northeast though. I miss the snow… and pizza.
I think people should worry more about grammar than the correct pronoun to use. Just my opinion.
anonymous: i considered simmons! cute school.
and go to http://www.theshmuz.com to take free torah inspiration on the go! podcasting etc
I agree, Math Girly. I was just being obnoxious, although I try to use neutral pronouns, instead of going with the incorrect they– sorry flatbush gal, good thought though! I didn’t mean to get us all the subject of grammar, though.
A few comments to throw out there:
1 – Go you for writing this post! My GEMARAH teachers in highschool (yes, I will get to this in a second) always told us that it was worthless going to the nurse during class if we didn’t feel well, because the Torah learning would make us feel better than anything THEY could give us in the nurses office.
2 – People often use the term “they” when “THEY” are trying to disguise the sex of the person they are talking about. (Read: a fellow that I dated way back used the term “they” when refering to his female buddies because he didn’t want me to know that he had any. Lucky for him I am a genious and figured it out on the spot. I was also kind and sensitive enough to call him on it on the spot as well. Tee hee. Using “they” in this capacity is both transparent and pathetic. But people will do what they must. Which leads me to point 3…)
3 – I am so going to get flack for this as it always becomes a heated debate, people are very emotional in this area BUT…
In days of yore I used to be the gemarah QUEEN. It was my favorite subject in school since we started learning it and even though I didn’t give so much as a rat’s tail about my other subjects, I found gemarah fascinating and therefore got straight As where I generally found a way to ride the curve in my other classes, or other methods of generally minimizing effort for minimum reasonable output, a.k.a. B’s and the like.
And then, suddenly, I was told that it was WRONG for girls to learn gemarah.
I heard all sorts of explanations and excuses:
- “They wouldn’t like it anyway, it would just be a turn-off from judaism.” (Um, hi, it was my favorite class!)
-”That’s not how their mind’s work, they are emotional and illogical.” (So how do you explain my love of logic puzzles, debates, geometry and GEMARAH then??!?!?!?)
-”Women don’t have a chiyuv to learn Torah except for what applies to them in their everyday lives.” (Women are obligated to learn Torah that increases their ahavah for Hashem because they enjoy it. Gemarah fell into this category for me.)
-”It says in the gemarah that a man who teaches his daughter gemarah is a fool.” (Ok, I argued, so then let her use her brains and go and study it on her own.)
Etc, etc., ETC….
I left well enough alone, though, thinking it wasn’t necessary to go on a crusade about it when I realized I had plenty of other learning to catch up on and I had better get cracking. I could always go and check up on it if the time was right.
Years down the line, when the gemarah was washed from my system, an explanation that worked for me was given. I heard the following from Rabbi Kelemen.
Women can enjoy gemarah and be good at gemarah, etc, etc. But –
Men have inherent aggressiveness built into them, and so they need to channel it by going through all of these Torah arguments. Women are NOT by nature aggressive. So they can train themselves in it, and even enjoy it, but it will slowly and surely RUIN THEIR MIDDOT. Which explains why I was such an obnoxious teenager.
(I’d like to take this opportunity to ask forgiveness of all those people who had to deal with me during that time. Most of you were exceedingly patient, while I acted like a mini-BRAT. Although this isn’t my blog, so probably none of you are reading this. Nevermind. But I’m still sorry.)
Oy vey… Don’t get me started about rabbi male chauvinism.
No, what were you going to say?
It’s about the actions, not the people…very nice people trying to give pathetic explanations.
I am all for Women learning gemara, I think men don’t allow it because they are scared women will start having their own opinions.
Also all the thumb dipping and page smacking that goes on may be untznius.
Great Comments funky fab
You may want to look into meteorology, hesh. u get to travel a ton all over the world and check out ecosystems also if u work 4 the government, u get great benefits & pension, like 90% of your highest salary
funky frum, while I understand men and women are inherently different. I think saying women shouldn’t or can’t learn gemara because they’re not agressive enough is just absurd and cockamainy. Should women not be able to hold high power jobs such as ceo, stock broker, politician, etc… Because they’re to meek and mild and should stick to poppin’ out babies and cooking? While I agree that it is important for women to have a domestic postition and maintain a stable home for her children and husband I think that women can go outside that domain. They can learn gemara, they be employed in high power positions. The excuse of learning to be agressive and studying gemara ruins their middot is an excuse for males to maintain their position of power in orthodox judaism. I’m not saying lets have women rabbis, nor am I saying that women should learn the exact same things as men, but if they want to why not?
well i guess using “they” is transparent and pathetic if ur doing it for reasons like the guy u dated, for me its just habbit cuz its easier, who exactly am i hiding genders about? my brothers?…not quite, so i think in my case its fine
I am glad I found this post. I am one of those weird chusids, who smuggle a tv into their house in an air condition box. Although I am 25+ and think I am making some headway in life, I still find it very challenging to battle my depression, sadness, unhappiness, feelings of unworthiness, unaccomplished, and so forth (like I think most people do, more or less).
And although I love to watch tv,(HBO, Showtime, Comedy Central, Sports) movies, (dramas, thrillers) comedy shows, go out to eat, play some ball, and all the regular extracurricular activities, that a good frum guy shouldn’t be doing, but should take your mind off the daily struggles and hardships, when its all over, it does jack diddily squat once its over. All those feelings come right back.
On the other hand, if I can sit down with a chavrusa, for an hour or two, to learn a good piece of gemara, and we fight it out, or go to some good SUBSTANTIVE interesting shiur, (not mussar, which is rarely substantive, on my level) I walk out a different person.
Understand, I am not the type who is into gedoilim, honestly I think they are all full of crap, and I have a lot of bituchin issues, and in frumkeit in general, but the amazing thing is that I can sit down a learn a good Ketzos, or a nice r’chaim, and my day is made. Don’t need money, power, friends, sex, nothing. All is good it’s a weird thing. I think its kind of what keeps me frum too.
Crazy, I know.
Dude totally in agreement, but dont you think you should leave the community if you have to hide who you are?
I cannot understand why people complain about their communities, they can just leave. I guess I can understand the whole family community situation, but it just seems like a crappy life thats hidden from reality.
By the way I dont even watch tv or mo vies.
Leaving the community only makes sense when I am ready to run away. When you are so connected and so tied up with so many responsibilities, you cant just pick yourself up and go. We are talking here about married with a couple of kids.
Of course I would love to live my life in the open and not dread it every time I go to Shomer Shabbos, without a hat, I feel the whole place staring at me., or wearing a t-shirt and sneakers, or not wearing black pants, and so on.
And yes, the family-community situation is a real help, almost a necessity, and you and your wife have to have very strong convictions to be able to overcome your dependency issues you have on your family-community.