October 9 Blog Post - Jake Ritter

3. Q: How does Rabbi Uzziel argue in favor of women's suffrage?

    A: He first lists the mediums where prohibiting the suffrage of woman occurs and lists the reasons why people believe this. "…some founded their words on Rabbinic law [din torah] and some on the notion of guarding the boundaries of morality and modesty…" (473) He then continued to dissect the question into two parts, one being active function of the election and the other the result of the election. His response to the first question is blunt and direct, there is no clear foundation for this evidence to forbid women the ability to vote. In addition to this, Uzziel stated this reason doesn't deny this personal right to woman. He then explained if women were to be removed from the electorate, irresponsible men should be as well according to the reasons provided why women should be removed. He concludes this portion with stating that women and men both have the ability to manage affairs, negotiate and buy and sell items. When addressing the notion that women shouldn't be political representatives, he used the example of Deborah, an iconic religious figure, as a key point in why women should be political respreenatives. Deborah was a job due to the fact that the community accepted her as one.