ABSTRACT
Regarding Jewish women, the prevailing sentiment is that the role of the wife is to bear children and exercise responsibility for family life. According to the halakhah, womanhood is a separate status with its own specific sets of rules, obligations and responsibilities. In terms of religious observance, women were classed as slaves and children, disqualified as witnesses, excluded from the study of the Torah and segregated from men. Moreover, they were regarded as ritually impure for extended periods of time. In general, they were exempted from time-bound commands; as a result they were not obliged to fulfil those commandments which must be followed at a particular time (such as the recitation of prayer). The purpose of these restrictions was to ensure that their attention and energy be directed toward completing their domestic duties. In the contemporary period, however, a growing number of women have agitated for equal treatment – in consequence, the role of women has undergone a major transformation. Nonetheless, there has been a universal recognition in all branches of Judaism that the Jewish wife should continue to play a central role in the home.
