A few years ago I saw a youtube clip that really stuck in my mind. It was of a christian woman explaining to other women why they must submit to their husbands, based on scripture. This video really disturbed me. Here was an articulate, clearly intelligent and strong woman using her talents to keep other women in a state of willing submission.This woman was the basis of my idea for Eve, quoting biblical rulings from a woman’s perspective.

The laws that I chose are not the harshest nor the most extreme. They are ones that deal with everyday existence for some women and those that I have heard many moderate religious people defend. I also included ones that were personal to me, growing up in a Jewish environment. While my religious upbringing was mostly pleasant and inclusive I still felt the sting of being separated from the men in Synagogue, from having to hear the boys at school recite every morning, ‘Thank you Lord for not making me a woman,’ and meekly replying with ‘Thank you Lord, for making me what I am.’ As a singer I especially felt isolated by my exclusion from the service in which my father and brother freely participated, as women’s voices are not to be heard by religious men. There are now versions of Judaism that try to combat these inequalities but they are not received well by many of the orthodox communities.

Song Lyrics

The bible tells me I was made for and from man
And I must do for him everything that I can
I must surrender to his will, yeah I must submit
I can’t make the household decisions coz I am unfit
It tells me my place
With ever-lasting grace

The bible tells me I must be silent you can’t hear my voice
My role has been divinely defined and I have no other choice
I may not be a teacher of man, I must cover up my shame
These are the laws of the one who in vain I cannot name
He tells me my place
With ever-lasting grace

And my punishment for wanting to learn
Is a painful birth from which I may not return

The bible tells me that I am unclean
I am impure you cannot touch me and it has nothing to do with where I’ve been
It is part of who I am, It is because I corrupt man
I was asking for it just by being a woman
He tells me my place
With ever-lasting grace

And my punishment for wanting to learn
Is a painful birth from which I may not return

The bible tells me I was made for and from man
And I must do for him everything that I can
I must surrender to his will, yeah I must submit
I can’t make the household decisions coz I am unfit
It tells me my place
With ever-lasting grace