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From: Russell Hendel <rhendel@mcs.drexel.edu>
Date:
Subject: Women have superior ENVIRONMENTS not SOULS (R Hirsch)

Just to answer Schulman on whether the fact that women are free from
certain mitzvoth implies they have superior souls.

According to Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch women have superior ENVIRONMENTS
not superior SOULS. A man goes out and fights for a living all
day...hence he must wear tefillin to remind him of his moral
obligations. But a woman stays home and raises children...she has no
need for tefilin.

However it is not her soul that is superior. It is her environment that
is superior.

(I once mentioned this to Rivka Slonim, and she stated that the trouble
with such explanations is that they imply that if a woman goes out to
work which is the custom today then she should put on tefillin. I simply
shrugged my shoulders and said that probably according to Rav Hirsch she
should..but perhaps her point is deeper)

Russell Jay Hendel;Phd ASA Rhendel @ mcs drexel edu