SHELO ASSANI ISHA

       Thank you G-d for not making me a woman. UM HELLO?! Super offensive statement right there. Sorry did I say statement? This is a blessing that men recite every morning in the daily morning prayer. Why? How is that even allowed in such a Divine religion? "Shelo assani isha" is it fair that men recite this blessing everyday? I never really understood why and thought it was really offensive, unjust, and unfair until I got married. 

A woman in Judaism may not have as many obligations and mitzvot as men do, but they have other responsibilities that men cannot handle. Therefore G-d gave these roles that some people call "a burden" to the woman.

The woman naturally sets the tone of her home: if she is in a good mood, so will everyone else be. If she's in a bad mood, so will everyone else be. That already is a huge responsibility. Despite her long day, her aching body, she needs to make sure her husband and children are happy, that in itself is a a lot of mental and emotional work. She needs to constantly be aware of her attitude and change it to positive if need be.

That's just a personal responsibility that affects her household. Now there's pregnancy, carrying a baby for nine months, dealing with the pain, the nausea, dizziness, constant need to sit down, and ongoing cravings. Then comes the actual giving birth, where a human being is literally coming out of her body. Then there's taking care of that child through nursing, education, emotional care, the list goes on. Then comes the next child, along with the constant maintenance of each specific child, a household, a husband and a community.

The list goes on and on with the amount of responsibilities a woman has as a mother and a wife. She must always be on top of her game, motivating her husband to reach his greatest potential. Thats truly her role- So why in the world would a man want to be a woman? Yeh thought so. And that's exactly why we instead read the blessing " she'assani kirtzono/ that I was made according to His will." Because this is what Hashem wants from us, and this is what He believes a woman can do, and how much women can handle. 

Women are naturally more spiritual then men, hence why we don't need all these materialistic things to connect to G-d such as: Tefilin, Tzitzit, Kippah, and we are also not obligated to pray in a minyan. We are exempted from all time-bound mitzvot, because we are always connected, and its our job to help the men stay constantly connected through our efforts.

At the end of the day it is a huge compliment from the one Above that he has chosen us for this role, therefore we must embrace it, and thank him for this gift of woman power. 

💜