What is the origin and extent of the use of the
Jewish prayer I often hear quoted: “Lord, I thank thee that I was not
born a woman.”
This
is part of the morning prayer of the Orthodox Jew. Other people often
pull it out of context to use it as an anti-women statement. However,
in its original context, that is neither its purpose nor its meaning.
Rather, its actual context concerns the keeping of the commandments: The
Jewish man, in this prayer, thanks God that he has been granted the opportunity
to obey God’s Torah. Because there are many more commandments for
men than for women, the Jewish man’s thankfulness derives from the idea
that he has been given opportunity to fulfill that many more commandments
for the Lord. That is the oft-ignored true meaning and context of this
prayer.