Rabbi Judah ben Bezalel Lowe, known as the Maharal of Prague was famous among Jews and non-Jews alike. He was a mystic who was revered for his holiness and Torah scholarship, as well as his proficiency in mathematics, astronomy, and other sciences. Eventually, word of his greatness reached the ears of Emperor Rudolph II.
The Emperor invited the Maharal to his castle on February 23, 1592. There they conversed for one and a half hours, and developed a mutual respect for each other.
Rabbi Judah Lowe made use of his excellent connections with the Emperor, often intervening on behalf of his community when it was threatened by anti-Semitic attacks or oppression.
A woman’s influence is different from a man’s. A man needs to conquer, to vanquish an opponent. Therefore, his victory is often superficial—he may get the other guy to nod his head, but not to surrender his heart.
A woman is able to reach inside a man, so he may not even recognize her influence. He feels as though this was his idea all along. Her conquest is through nurture.
From where does this talent come? Paradoxically, from the woman’s union with a man. In that union, she discovers what it is to be a woman, and how a woman conquers with love.
So too, from the man’s union with a woman, he can learn to heal the world through nurture. To be truly a man.