Date: Sun, 21 May 2000 23:34:55 -0400 (EDT)
From: Russell Hendel <  rhendel@mcs.drexel.edu>
Subject: Re: Laws of Family Purity

QUESTION:
<  <  ...BTW, I was enchanted by your explanation of how keeping Taharat
HaMishpacha leads to involvement in community activity. Is there a source
for that? I wonder, though, what that implies about the community
involvement of pregnant, nursing, and post-menopausal women ...>  >

ANSWER:
There are really 2 questions. The question about community involvement of
women is answered by observing that women get together to help each other
out on matters of raising children and caring for people (eg Bikur Cholim).

The idea that community involvement is a way of observing Taharat Mishpacha
comes from the Pirkay Avot (The ethics of the fathers) "...Torah with a
worldly occupation is good since their combination leads to absence of sin"

There is a similar obscure law in marriages---women (even wealthy women and
even women whose husbands supports them) have a 'right' to work in their
marriage "Because without daily work they would be idle and think of sin"
As an example if a husband angrily said "May my wife be prohibited to me
like a temple sacrifice if she keeps on working", then his wife would be
entitled to a full divorce (with full monetary compensation).

In short: Daily learning, daily work and daily occupation with community
work all help us to keep our minds off "other things".

Russell Jay Hendel; Phd ASA RHendel@Towson.Edu
Moderator Rashi is Simple; http://www.shamash.org/rashi/