For a human being to lead a totally fulfilling life, he or she must have two forms of energy. The power of expression and the power of liberation, the power of strength and the power of subtlety, the power of giving and the power of receiving, and ideally these energies must be synthesized together as one. While both men and women encompass both of these dimensions they each primarily embody one of these two energies. The ancient Jewish mystics, who certainly wrote at a time when none would accuse them of trying to appease alienated Jewish feminists, wrote that women are spiritually superior to men. Rabbi Isaac Luria, the greatest Jewish mystic of all time, even wrote that the Messiah would not come until men began to emulate the divine service of the women, by which he meant that the Messiah would not come until men stopped believing that the world was about slaying dragons and demons and actually begin to seen the hidden spiritual nature in everything, including the purity of a child, the innocence of romantic love between a husband and wife, and the light of the world instead of its darkness.
Men are physically stronger and by nature man is often more aggressive and externally oriented.
A dramatic contrast is the woman with her ideals and dignity. Sometimes we mistake this subtlety for weakness and we make the same mistake of misconstruing the woman's more private role within Judaism as a secondary role. In truth, however, those who have spiritual fulfilment do not need to shout it from the pulpits of the Synagogues any more than those who are truly in love need to demonstrate it in an airport lounge. The truth is that subtle dignity and quiet spirituality are far more formidable than anything overtly aggressive or physical. True religious piety and holiness does not holler, it speaks with a strong steady voice, it resonates from within.