Following a lot of conversation about the importance of women in Judaism, I clarified for myself one issue which I will elucidate here. Basically, if you follow it, I suggest that both sides could be said to be true. In matters such as this, I think it is small-minded to expect exclusive truths. At this level things blend in to a singular complete truth, rather than run into contradictory argument.
When it comes to the view of 'the female', (ie. nukvah and not women) in Chazal and in Kabbalah, I believe it is (and always will be) inferior to 'the male,' with good reason: The male is ultimately a description of God's influence, and the female is ultimately a description of those (all created beings) influenced by God. Everything in creation being secondary to God, existing only because God exists.
There is definitely wiggle room to say that perhaps even in this context the female is already (or will become) more important. The view of the Ba'al HaTanya whose yahrtzeit it is today, states that if you truly love HaShem then you will love what he loves, namely bnei Yisrael. In this context, and in the context of selfless love, HaShem ('Himself') might very well consider 'the female' (ie. everything created) to be more important than HaShem. ('the male')
So what's more important? HaShem, whose existence is the foundation of the existence of everything else, or everything in existence, since HaShem cared about it so much that it should have come into existence to begin with?
To which I say, (loosely paraphrasing the Zohar) the only thing of interest is the union of the 'male' and 'female.'
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