בראשית פרק יח, ט וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו אַיֵה שָרָה אִשְ תֶּךָ וַיֹּאמֶּר הִנֵה בָאֹּהֶּל:
מסכת יבמות דף עז/א מכאן דכבודה של אישה לישב בבית
The Gemara derives from this verse the principle that a Moavi and an Amoni (male) after conversion are not allowed to marry within Judaism, but a Moavis and an Amonis (female) are allowed. The reason is that females do not go out to war, and thus, were not included in the reason for the prohibition.
This concept is also applied to many other situations, including:
- sending an agent to marry an unknown woman (and could have engaged anyone’s mother or daughter, and since women are set in their house, this becomes a case of “half and half” and we are strict);
- when one dies and has sons and daughters (daughters, who are set in the house, are sustained from the inheritance; and if not enough also for the sons, then the sons must seek charity from others);
- do not bring a woman to Bais Din (but send scribes to them to take any needed information, or to take an oath, or sell property to pay off the Kesuvah).
Also, in many places a woman is referenced in connection to a tent. In this verse, the emphasis that Sarah is in the tent, makes known that she was modest. Contrary to the general population, Jewish women are modest (i.e. in their homes) as an “inheritance” from our Matriarchs.
