Judaism: More Free(er) and Strict(er)

Hi guys,
We're moving out of Asia now, and are headed on over to the Mediterranean!
I thought the introduction by Bulliet was a little slow, but once we got into the heart of Judaism and it's fundamentals, I thought it became a really cool contrast and comparison to other religions and philosophies we've learned.
For example, WOMEN! Women have so much more freedom then they might have in a lot of the other religions we've discussed. In fact, most of the ones we have discussed have been pretty vague in terms of women rights, what a women's role was, and how that differed from the male's role (which leads me to believe that women probably did not have that much power because nobody was talking about it). But similarly to ancient Egypt, women practicing Judaism, could, in fact, gain an important role in society. (i.e. Deborah the Judge). Further, many of the women could entertain in a job, common were: cooks, wet nurses, etc. With the beginnings of Judaism, we are seeing women taking on roles other then just bearing and rearing children, (in peasant families they were even expected to help with the manual labor of farming).
So if women refer to my "free(er)" part to my Title, What do I mean when I say "and Strict(er)"?
Since women had more rights then what we have learned about in regards to other societies, they were therefore free(er). In contrast, the rules of Judaism we're both strict, and specific. Reminding me a lot of legalism, Jews were/are expected to follow a strict set of rules referring to their faith: monotheism, ritual baths for spiritual purity, limits to eating certain foods, honoring the Sabbath, and more.
So, while Judaism was becoming free(er) then other religions and societies we have learned thus far, it is also just as strict as the most harsh philosophy we have learned about thus far, too. That being: legalism.