[Avodah] Women's aliyot to Torah

[Micha Berger]

On Wed, February 6, 2008 10:30 am, R Michael Makovi wrote:
: But a friend of mine said (I don't know his source) that the primary
: reason is simply that women aren't chayav to hear the Torah, and so
: they cannot fulfill the reading for men. Kavod and tzniut are minor
: factors according to him. Does anyone know the sources for this topic?

Kavod hatzibbur is indivisible from the lack of chiyuv. The kavod
problem isn't that a woman is leining for men. Where's the slight in
that? The kavod problem is that by having an einah metzuvah lein, it
implies that none of the metzuvim were as capable.

Tzeni'us too is related. RHSchachter writes that the only matir men
have for being sha"tz, leining, teaching, leading etc... is that they
have an obligation to make sure someone does it. In fact, someone
picked to be Chazan should view it as a personal sacrifice for the
sake of the rabbim. So, for men, tzeni'us is trumped by chiyuv. For
women, there is no parallel overriding factor.

Second, it's not clear whether the tzibbur being slighted is the
minyan in the room, or the Benei Yisrael as a whole of which they are
a unit. If the latter, there is no possibility of mechilah; it's not
their kavod to wave. That's the Magein Avraham 53:9 and the MB 59:23
(sources provided by RGS in below-mentioned thread).

But you're right, contra your friend, that the problem is NOT that of
an ainah metzuvah being unable to be motziah a metzuveh. Except
possibly a da'as yachid of the Behag by qerias megillah which may
apply here. The Behag won't let a woman lein for a man because her
chiyuv is derabbanan and his is greater, midivrei soferim. Lo kol
shekein where it's no chiyuv vs divrei soferim.

See also R' Mendel Shapiro's
<http://www.edah.org/backend/JournalArticle/1_2_shapiro.pdf> which
surveys all the issues, and
<http://www.aishdas.org/avodah/getindex.cgi?section=W#WOMEN%20READING%20MEGILLAH%20FOR%20MEN>.

SheTir'u baTov!
-micha

-- 
Micha Berger             "Man wants to achieve greatness overnight,
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