[Avodah] daas torah & history [& O vs. C methodology]

[Michael Makovi]

> Example, AFAIK ZERO Reishonim prohibit women reading for Megillah onbehalf
> of other woemn and Rashi/Rambam EVEn permit it for me. Many acharonim
> changed this [see Beis Yosef and Magen Avrahm]
> Kol Tuv / Best Regards,
> RabbiRichWolpoe at Gmail.com

Rabbi Henkin has an interesting article on this in Equality Lost (and
Bnei Banim). I forget all the details, but he says something about how
there are three shitot:
1) Women = men, b'klal
2) Women have mitzvah to hear, and a lesser obligation than men to
read. So women can read for each other, but not for men.
3) Women have only obligation to hear, and they cannot read even for other women

I think number 3 is Tosefta, either 1 or 2 is the Talmud, and I forget
what the other one is.

So, Rabbi Henkin brings many sources (Rishonim on 1, Gaonim on 2, if I
remember correctly). Then, he brings Tosafot and the Rosh who hold
number 2. But they were misunderstood by many (including Korban
Netanel and Mishna Berurah) to hold 3, but Tosafot haRosh (unavailabe
to KN and MB) clearly and undoubtedly holds 2, so women can most
definitely read for each other.

A primary issue for some, between 2 and 3, was kavod tzibur. Somehow,
many who held 3 held that it would violate kavod hatzibur for a
womens'-only group to be read to by women. Personally, this I cannot
understand (the women in Avodah, can you please pipe in: amongst you
all, who would be insulted for a woman to read the Megilla to you?),
and Rabbi Henkin seems to find this difficult too; he never says so,
but he says that surely it would less honorable for the women
(especially scholarly women learned in Torah) to be read to by a young
man than by a woman.

Mikha'el Makovi