Ruth Institute Blog

Can we judge the status of a woman by her pay check? Have women arrived when they have half the seats in the legislature and their husbands do half the chores at home? This is Part I of a symposium by Mercatornet.com on improving the status of women by 2020.

Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse’s take on the situation:

I have a radical idea for promoting the dignity of women: the idea that giving birth to children inside marriage is good and worthy use of one’s time and talent. This idea has come under assault from many directions. Read more…

The BYU symposium generated a bit of local publicity. Here is an article about my opening talk that kicked off the conference. The author did a reasonable job of identifying the important points of my talk.

Americans are being taught to believe they’re generic humans, that “we’re not men and woman, we’re generic parents, we’re not moms and dads,” she said. “Ladies and gentlemen, there are no generic people!” Read more…

Lots of good stats in here.

by Carolyn Moynihan

When will young adults get the message that living together does not increase their chances of a lasting marriage? New analysis of US national data shows that, on average, cohabitation actually decreases by 6 percentage points the likelihood of marriage lasting 10 years or more. Read more…

If you were to ask me, the wisest rabbi now in practice is Abraham Twerski.  Here are some of his thoughts on marriage:

The Talmud says that the relationship of a husband to his wife should be “to love her as much as he loves himself, and to respect her even more than he respects himself” (Yevamos 62b). It is of interest that Rambam, in citing the Talmud, reverses the order and places respect before love. Why? Because it is unrealistic to expect that one can have so intense a love from day one. It takes time for true love to develop. However, respect is something that can begin on day one.

See what I mean.  Wisest rabbi around.

Some of his phrases are untranslated Hebrew, but I think it may be self explanatory from the context.  If not, just ask for translation in the comments, and I will answer.

Marriages face many challenges.  One of the most common challenges is financial.

But if you believe in lifelong married love, then, for heaven’s sakes, DON’T LISTEN TO SUZE ORMAN.  Here’s what Dr. Helen Smith had to say:

Well, Suze Orman is back at it again, playing the henpecking man-hater who tells women to get divorced Read more…

Interestingly, a study shows that those who marry between the ages of 20-24 have the lowest divorce rate. It was also suggested that “little or nothing is likely to be gained by deliberately delaying marriage beyond the mid twenties.”

David Lapp

Marriages of people in their early to mid-20s are not nearly as risky as you think.

When my very smart and relatively young girlfriend (she was then 20) first told her father she was thinking of marrying me, he refused to even hear of it. “How much college debt does he have?” he demanded. “What’s the rush? Why not wait until your career and finances are established? How do you know he’s the one?” Read more…

Check out the podcast page for new talks for your listening pleasure. Recent titles include: Toxic: The Debate over Same-Sex Marriage, Prop 8 Update, and Is Marriage Equality Possible? Feel free to comment. We welcome open debate.