voices of faith q & a

January 21, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

McClatchy Newspapers

Q. If God is neither male nor female, why do most people say ‘Father God’?

‘IT’ DOESN’T CUT IT

Rabbi Avi Weinstein, head of Jewish studies, Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, Overland Park, Kan.

A. Even though God is in the purest sense neither male nor female, the way one perceives God requires some definition.

The Jewish mystics felt that there were 10 emanations of God, some of which were designated as masculine while others were feminine. In fact, the divine presence for which the Temple was home, the “Shechina,” was decidedly feminine, and described as such in the Talmud. It would be more accurate to call God masculine and feminine.

Nevertheless, God in Jewish liturgy is usually referred to as “the father,” or “the king.”

Unlike English, in Hebrew each noun has a gender. The Hebrew word for bottle has a gender. In fact most body parts have a gender, and they are mostly feminine, except the Hebrew word for breasts which for some reason is masculine. Go figure.

If the question is why don’t we refer to God as “it,” God as an “it” is too distant. Nobody has a relationship with an “it.” Sometimes expecting parents refer to the fetus as “it,” but that is precisely because the fetus is not known and cannot yet be in a meaningful relationship. The only choice in Hebrew was whether to address God personally as male or female since his “itness” would make God an inanimate object and that doesn’t quite cut it.

When addressed, God is often called the Master of the Universe, or the Holy One Blessed Be He, the quality that is emphasized is God’s authority and our desire to submit to him. Classically, these were male qualities, but this is an evolving relationship, and there is ample precedent for God in Jewish tradition to be imagined as female.

IT’S CALLED PATRIARCHY

The Rev. Holly McKissick, pastor, Peace Christian Church, Kansas City, Mo.

A. It’s been more than 30 years, but I still feel bad that I voted against her. Even as a teenager, she was a strong leader: smart, creative, confident. He was no match, but I voted for him. I don’t even remember his name — tall, cute, a jock — and inexperienced and irresponsible. Our group floundered under his direction. I’ve thought about that vote many times. I voted for the guy because he was a guy.

It’s called patriarchy. It’s nearly universal; it crosses time and tradition, the preference for male over female. In a system where the male is supreme, it follows that the Supreme One will be identified with masculine imagery and identity.

Unlike the patriarchy found in Judaism, Christian patriarchy has its foundation in dualism. Christianity draws a sharp and naive divide between male and female. The male is equated with God, light, spirit and good, and the female is equated with sin, dark, flesh and evil.

In our poems and our prayers, God has many names: River, Rock, Mother, Prince of Peace, Source of Light. It is not only girls and women who lose when we limit God’s name and nature, but boys and men, too, for our true potential is hidden from our view. God only knows how humankind could flourish if we embraced the fullness of God in one another.

2011 The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.)