Joseph:
You wrote: “Certainly gender does play a large role in one’s qualifications for a job. To deny that is to r”l deny the Torah, which unambiguously defines gender roles. Advocating a position of gender-neutrality is emulating the Mitzrim who forced men to do women’s jobs and forced women to do men’s jobs.”
That’s not my point. You cast me as a feminist, and I am not at all advocating gender neutrality on many things. The Torah specifies responsibilities of men and women, and that supersedes anything. I never implied that I would overrule that. No, a woman cannot be a rov, nor should she learn Torah as proscripted by Chazal. And I would never stomach the swapping of roles between men and women. I know my thinking might sometimes get on your nerves, but I do not ever side with absurdity. The reality is that there are countless matters that have zero involvement with gender, and introducing that as a factor becomes an obstacle. For instance, can you provide me any rational basis to limit voting to men? I am not receptive to the notion of “that’s how we do things around here”. Can a woman be a doctor or lawyer? Why not? Should a woman have a job outside the home? I am as aware as you about כל כבודה בת מלך פנימה. But that did not stop דבורה הנביאה from sitting under the tree. (I doubt the tree was in her living room.) Is it okay for the men to sit in kollel and send their wives to work to support them? What about כל כבודה?
Yes, there are things that are gender specific. And there are things that are not. Today, most matzo bakeries have men working there. The gemora speaks openly about women baking the matzos. Wow! They worked outside the home! Don’t cram into my statement nonsense that was not intended.