We spoke about what goes first when you have different types of korbanot (offerings) that are about to be offered. Which do we choose to go before the other? We’ll now talk about other applications of what goes before what.
When talking about a man and a woman, the Mishnah says a man takes precedence over a woman in terms of keeping them alive. Two people are drowning: one is a man, and one is a woman. The man is supposed to be rescued first, and then the woman, because the man is obligated in all of the mitzvot (commandments), while the woman is not. Therefore, the man gets rescued first.
The same applies to returning a person’s lost object. If a man and a woman both lost objects, the man’s object should be returned before the woman’s.
A woman takes precedence over a man if both of them are poor and need clothing. We give the woman clothing before the man because, in that type of situation, it is more embarrassing for a woman than a man to beg for clothing or to be seen without clothing. The same applies to food. If two people are lacking food and we have enough for one, we give it to the woman over the man because it is embarrassing for her to have to beg for it.
A woman also comes first when it comes to freeing her from captivity. If both a man and a woman are taken, the woman is rescued first, out of concern that she is going to be abused by the people who kidnapped her. We try to get her out as quickly as we can, even before the man.
When both men and women are held captive and both of them are in danger of being raped—both the men and the woman—we rescue the man before the woman. That type of abuse is terrible for both the men and the woman, but it is more humiliating for a man, so we take the man out before we take the woman out.