This month, we celebrate International Women's Day. As a woman, I think it's important to have a separate day dedicated specially to celebrate us, but I also think Judaism celebrates and elevates women every day.

How so, you may ask? Let me share with you my thoughts.

It has been said by some that behind every great man there is an even greater woman.
Any leader needs their trusted partner, not only to be able to operate at full potential, but also to be challenged. In Genesis it says, "I will make for him a helpmate opposite him.” (Gen. 2:18). So, whilst she is a supporter, she can also be a necessary “opposer”. Often, progress happens when our beloved partner is both supported and also challenged in a way that helps everyone.

Judaism sometimes symbolises the male as the “sun” and the female as the “moon”. No one is greater or lesser, but they are two halves of a complementary whole.

They say Judaism is sexist. I agree!
Traditionally, in so many Jewish homes, women are the heart and the hearth, and their love and energy embrace the entire household.

Our sages teach that women are generally more empathetic and therefore more open to spirituality. Her intrinsic sensitivity makes it easier for her to connect to the divine. This allows for a closeness to the Creator that is easier to reach for a woman. This is why in our morning prayers women thank G-d for “creating her [more] in accord with His will.” As opposed to men who thank the Creator “for not making them a woman.” This line has often been mistaken as misogynistic. The truth is quite the opposite; If men are naturally more distant from the Creator than women, men therefore need to work harder in order to achieve closeness with G-d. Read this way, men are expressing their gratitude for being given the extra "challenge" to overcome their natural distance from G-d.

The woman is like the Moon - ever changing.
The Talmud says, “The other nations count by the sun, while Israel counts by the moon”. Indeed, the times of the month we honour are the ones with female energy—Rosh Chodesh (the 1^st day of the month) and Shabbat. It is as if Judaism is hinting that this is a fundamental balancing energy that we need to achieve. Rosh Chodesh is the Yom Tov (holiday) for women, a time when we are not meant to do any chores. Shabbat is the end of the week and in our Friday night prayers, we welcome it like we welcome the arrival of a Queen.

In recent decades, I see the energy of our planet changing to a more feminine sensibility in some very obvious ways – “feminism” is a movement which is making a massive positive impact on the status of women across the globe. We have a voice in more areas, a voice with greater value, we have more rights, and in many countries, women’s rights are upheld under the law now more than any time in human history.

When I use the word “feminism”, I refer to the movement actively advocating for women's full social, economic, and political equality by giving them the same opportunities as men.

It is the hope of many that the guiding values of our world are shifting to a more nurturing, human-rights orientation. I do believe there has been a net growth in countries that are pluralistic and democratic, with a few unfortunate exceptions.

The hope moving forward is that future disagreements will be arbitrated by diplomacy rather than physical conflict.
As the old joke goes, “If the world was run by women, there would be no wars. Just a bunch of countries not talking
to each other.”

A man's world, a woman’s world – OUR world together.
One way of looking at balance in our world is a way of harmonising the masculine, represented by the six days of the week, and the feminine I referenced leading to Shabbat. To thrive in a healthy way, we need both and I think our world is shifting to a more Shabbat-like outlook.

The Torah tells us that when Moshiach (the Messiah) comes, we will experience yom shekulo Shabbat (every day will be like Shabbat)—Shabbat on a macro level. A time when there will be a complete universal and cosmic Shabbat, a shift into a feminine way of being.

Even if you look at the way companies are now run, compared to a decade ago, some structures are less hierarchical and more inclusive. Organisations have made strides in valuing what is sometimes called “EQ” (emotional quotient or emotional intelligence). Entire departments now cultivate company "Culture". This is becoming an important part of a healthy work ecosystem – not unlike the way a mother would naturally feel about her children.

The end of the world as we know it, is not the end of the world
On the Jewish calendar we are in the year 5782. If every thousand years corresponds to a day, then we are approaching the end of the week. Indeed, we are well after midday on Friday afternoon! Shabbat is coming. The female energy, worldview and values it represents, can be a new and life-sustaining reality for us all.

So, whilst I think International Women's Day is an important idea, surely we need to celebrate being women every day! Our achievements! Our values! Our contributions to the world!

Let us celebrate the Malkahs (the Queens) in our lives: our mothers, our sisters, our wives, our daughters, our aunts, our colleagues, and our mentors.

Photo by: Anna Lolua