Women's Place in Ancient Israel and Today and How Their Role Differed From the Rest of the World

IDF female doing her National Service at age 18 for two years.  

Women who were part of the IDF have played a major role in the units fighting the Nazis and have also served in Israel's 1948 war for independence.

IDF female saluting from Israel
Serving from age 18 to 20 is compulsory. 

Nadene Goldfoot                                         

Women have fought in the IDF since before its inception in 1948.  They serve at age 18 just like the men.  Women make good sergeants.  

Females can shoot well.  

Female  working on airplane

 more than 92 per cent of I.D.F. jobs are now open to women — they are fighter pilots, infantry officers, naval captains and Humvee drivers; just 3 per cent serve in combat roles.

Female Christian serving in IDF

 Israeli women are extremely passionate about serving in the military. In 2001, position of Women’s Affairs Advisor was created to ensure more women are recruited into the services. 

Did you know that Queen Salome Alexandra ruled Judea from 76 to 67 BCE?  She had succeeded her husband, Alexander Yannai aka Jonathan, (king and high priest of Judea from 103-76 BCE, son of John Hyreanus, a despotic and violent ruler who used foreign mercenaries to get his way.  Salome reversed his inimical policy toward the Pharisees, traditionally by his dying request.  According to the writer and former General, Josephus, Salome gave the  internal control to the Pharisees to handle religious affairs while she had the responsibility for the army and foreign policy. She appointed her oldest son, Hyreanus as the high priest and heir to the throne but this was opposed by his brother, Aristobulus.  Talmudic sources speak of Salome as the sister of Rabbi Simeon Ben Shetah and thought of her favorably, but Josephus was critical of her.  Josephus had lost the battle and to save his own life, went over to the Romans and acted as a historian, writing a tome of information.  
                                                                         

In those days we had the Greeks to compare with in the standing of women in their culture.  In hellenistic times (320 BCE-30 BCE) , the Jewish woman's status in Israel was superior to that of the Greek women.  For one thing, she was an independent legal person who was allowed to own her own property.  This didn't change.  In fact, it was made very clear in talmudic law saying she could own property when she was either single or a widow and could keep certain property after marriage, though increments were to go to her husband.  

Monogamy, a man having only one wife, started in about 1,000 CE and elevated the position of the woman.  Polygamy, having more than one wife, remained legal for oriental (Mizrachi)  Jews, though it is  illegal in Israel today.  

Rabbis had a unique attitude towards life in that they had a healthy attitude towards sex.  They insisted on the positive virtues of the marital relationship which implied that the woman's dignity was recognized not withstanding her possible legal inferiority, as the man was still an important person in a marriage.  Both had different roles but both were important in the marriage so the man and woman were equal, but not in the synagogue.
                                                                             

Cohens are called up first to read from the Torah on Shabbat, then Levites, and
after they read, Israelites.  A minyan is a prayer quorum of 10 men.  

 It takes 10 men to make a minyan.  Women were excused because of the constant need to be with the children, an equally important role.
                                                                         

It started in biblical days with Sarah, Rebecca, Leah and Rachel as our most favored matriarchs.   We had our heroines in Miriam (sister of Moses) , Deborah (a Prophetess b: about 1150 BCE and wife of Lapidoth who roused the Israelite tribes to revolt under Barak against the Canaanite king, Jabin of Hazor and his ally and commander, Sisera.  , Huldah (prophetess in 7th century BCE in Jerusalem when Josiah was King 637-608BCE who foretold the fall of Judah and that Josiah would die just before),   
                                                       

 Queen Jezebel (b: c.883 BCE  d: 843 BCE)  of Israel was not our heroine but was the wife of Ahab and daughter of the king of Sidon, Ethbaal.  She had a forceful and vindictive personality and so made mincemeat out of King Ahab by telling him what to do.  She introduced her own Baal cult into Israel, something against Jewish law.  This made Elijah most angry.  She died in an uprising.  She became famous in English writings but certainly not in Hebrew writings.  That she was of a different religion and culture of an enemy didn't keep her off the throne according to Jewish law, though. 

 Queen Athaliah (842-836 BCE of Judah. She was the daughter of King Ahab and Jezebel.   When her son, King Ahaziah, died after reigning for only 1 year, she went crazy and slaughtered the whole royal family except for her grandson, Joash and only spared him because he had been saved by his aunt Jehosheba.  She kept the cult of Baal going in Judah and ruled for 6 years.  A revolt broke out in favor of Joash and she was put to death.  

Athaliah with high priest who is angry. 

The book of Proverbs warns men against the
wiles of women.  It also speaks of the "woman of worth" who is the mainstay of her household.  The Talmudic writings show a nervousness of the sexual power of the woman.  Among rabbis, the story
of  Beruyah, exercised great personal influence and admiration.  Rabbis did center the woman to the position in the home, but they were expected to practice religious rites with food, such as in making challah, taking a piece out of the raw dough.  
                     

Queen Esther aka Hadassah  lived just before 330 BCE in Persia  and delivered the Jews from mass extermination caused by Haman in the time of King Ahasuerus, who could have been King Darius.  Haman wanted all the Jews of the massive Persian Empire killed.  She was a hidden Jew like an Anusim but this forced her to tell her husband, the king of her Jewishness.  He in turn hung Haman and his sons. Jews have the holiday of Purim to remember this close call.  The king had chosen Esther in a beauty contest.  She was the winner.  

In Spain during persecutions,women set the example of martyrdom for Judaism.  In the 17th century, women such as Benvenida Abravanel of a distinuished Spanish family-Benvenida Abrabanel was a philanthropist and businesswoman. She was born in Naples, the daughter of Joseph Abrabanel. Her family was originally from Spain; when the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, the Abrabanels left for Naples;   or Gracia Mendez aka Gracia Nasi who was prominent in Jewish life. Education, however, for women was neglected.  Gracia Nasi (1510-1569) Jewish leader born in Portugal as the Marrano Beatrice de Luna, escaped to Venice in 1544  where she was denounced and put in prison for being Jewish, became a leader of Turkish Jewry, built synagogues, helped fugative Marranos, now called Anusim, worked on colonizing Tiberias in Palestine.  Died there.  

Gracia Nasi aka Gracia Mendez aka Beatrice de Luna

                                                       

Golda Meir (Golda Meyerson 1898-1978)
Born in Russia, emigrated to Palestine in 1921
Prime Minister in 1969, in Yom Kippur War Oct 6, 1973 to October 26 1973, reelected end of 1973,
Retired in 1974.  

In eastern Europe, it was a tradition for the woman to work in order to allow the husband to study with rabbis.  In Jewish society, a man tries to excel in education and certainly in reading from the Torah. Women were expected to be a Bala Busta, a manager of the household and excel in it. The song in Yiddish tells it all as to how the mother was adored in the home with "My Yiddishe Momma
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mys0kdojnW4 .   In the last 80 years, women have also been important in Zionist pioneering and Jewish public life such as Golda Meir.                       

        

Women created the organization, Hadassah-Women's Zionist Organization of America,  and Wizo-Women's International Zionist Organization.  Now we have women cantors and rabbis, though not accepted in the Orthodox communities.  In the Reform and Conservative movements, they even count women in a minyan.  Education is just as important for women today 
                                               

   
In Mea Shearim, an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem, the proper dress for women is a skirt and sleeves below the elbow and if married, a scarf to cover her hair.  

Research: The New Standard Jewish Encylopedia
My Life by Golda Meir-excellent reading, enjoyed it very much
https://www.indiatimes.com/news/world/7-things-you-need-to-know-about-women-in-the-israeli-defence-forces-324636.html
My Yiddishe Momma