Special Role of Jewish Mother

We are introduced in פרשת לך לך and the special relationship between Avraham Avinunand Sara Imeinu. Rabbi Soloveitchik writes that all of the Avot were very attached to their spouses and without them, they did not function on the same level.

Avraham lived thirty eight years longer than Sara but his career was over when she died. The same applied to the Yitzchak-Rivka relationship and Yakov and Rachel.

Rav Soloveitchik goes on to explain the very different roles that the father and mother have in educating their children. The father’s teaching is mostly intellectual in passing on lessons of Torah and morality.

The teachings of the Jewish mother are multi faceted. The following is a direct quote from the Rav: “The warmth and tenderness of Judaism is taught by the mother. The mother creates the mood. She is the artist responsible for the magnificence, solemnity, and beauty. She tells the child of the great romance of Judaism. She somehow communicates to him the tremor, the heartbeat of Judaism, while playing, singing, laughing, and crying.” Shabbat Shalom