Thread by @TheRaDR

Ok, y’all. Would you like some #metoo Torah?

Thread.

The Torah portion we read this coming Shabbat starts with the story of Yitro, Moses’ father-in-law, giving him some tips about refining his leadership model, delegating, becoming more effective in his leadership.

Then, fast-forward. The people Israel are hanging out at the base of Mt. Sinai, while God gives instructions to Moses. This translation is misleading; there’s no “warning” and no “staying pure.” God tells Moses to קדש the people—to make them holy, sanctified, set-apart.

It’s clear from the verb that Moses needs to do a thing to them. So then Moses goes back, and he does it! He קדש them. Sanctifies, makes holy, sets apart, something. It’s still not clear what the action is, but he does it. Plus the clothes washing thing. There’s no warning.

And then *record scratch* he keeps talking.

“Don’t go near a woman.”

God didn’t say that.

Suddenly, Moses is only addressing men. Women have gone from being subjects—part of the people—to objects. Who are sexual temptations who must be avoided.

In one sentence, Moses simultaneously cuts women out of Revelation and turns them into sexual objects.

Women aren’t the ones being told to prepare for Torah, here, after all. They’re just a problem.

Traditional commentators make sense of all this by suggesting that קדש is a command for Israel to attain a state of ritual elevation/purity, akin to where they must be to offer sacrifices in the Temple. Since seminal ejaculation would imperil that status, that’s what God meant.

Only problem is that קדש is not that state. We have a word for that. טהר.

Moses dumped his human stuff into his command from God. His ideas about gender and power and hierarchy and who matters and sex and whatever else. He twisted a command from the Holy One to suit his agenda.