[Avodah] women lighting candles

[Zev Sero]

Eli Turkel wrote:
>> In answer to your assertion that "we do pasken that women are required" a
>> simple look around at all chareidi homes and chassidishe homes and most
>> Litvishe homes will show you that women do not light their own menorahs when
>> their husbands are present, and if you are trying to claim that chareidim
>> don't know halacha I don't know what else to say.
 
> I say that the evidence that women should not light their own candles
> is not exactly overwhelming.  I would even suggest that much of the
> stress on their not lighting is anti-feminism more than strict halacha.
> A similar phenomena occurs in zimmun.  many poskim agree that 3 women
> together should make a zimmun. Nevertheless this rarely occrs especially
> in chassidishe and litvishe homes more for reaons of anti-feminism than
> strict halacha

How can it have anything to do with anti-feminism, when it goes back
to before there was any feminism?  It may be difficult to explain, but
that can't be the explanation.  Add to the mix: why, in those homes
where every boy over bar-mitzvah has his own ke'arah, do the women not
have one?  They're obligated in all the mitzvot of the night, just as
are the men, so why do they not have ke'arot?  Again, this goes back to
long before feminism, so it can't be a reaction to feminism.  But it
still needs explaining.  Mayim Acharonim is another one that it would
seem applies to women, but they just don't do.

-- 
Zev Sero               Something has gone seriously awry with this Court's
zev at sero.name          interpretation of the Constitution.
                       	                          - Clarence Thomas