[Avodah] mayim acharonim sundry replies and clarifications

[Shlomo Pick]

1. concerning the source in the kabbalah, see zohar terumah, p. 154b, see the quotation in kaf hachayyim, 181:1 and the quote from the ari.
2. concerning women in mayyim acharanim. halichos bas yisrael, heb.ed. p. 58, simply writes that women are equally obligated as men. likewise, halichot beisa by r. dovid auerbach, p. 92 heb ed. (12:2) states that women are obligated and in brackets adds that some have the custom to be lenient. both quote reb haym sonnenfeld (quoted also by r. dr. ari zivotofsky, who added a few more. r.fuchs quoted r. shlomo zalman auerbach to this point also.
3. which brings me to the only modern day poseq, shevet haleivei  vol 4, orach chayim, no. 23, who says according to the strict letter of the law, there is no difference between men and women. however according the posekim at the end of OH 181 (i.e. 181:10), that mayim acharonim is applicable nowadays (i presume he means the MB et al), but the custom is that women don't wash mayim acharonim so much (kol kach) is based upon the SA ad loc that nowadays mayim acharaonim does not apply at all, and people are just stringent upon themselves, and women did not take [this upon themselves]. r. fuchs adds that he heard from rav yonah merzbach that in germany this was the custom also, even in ultra orthodox homes [with regards to women's mayim acharonim].
this reasoning is like the ra'avya on haseiba. today there is no haseiba, and thus the posekim who say women don't do [see safire in a recent language essy in ny times magazin concering this phrase] haseiba rely upon this ra'avya [although the ra'avya say important women, i.e. all ashkanzic women in his time, obligated in haseiba.
4. r. wosner does say the according to the shita (of tosaphot berachot) suggested by SA OH 181:10, doing mayim acharonim is a chumra. according to this shita women didn't accept this chumra in accordance with position.  he did not say that this position is still viable today. in fact he cites those posekem who say that nowadays the obligation of (chiyuv) of mayim acharonim is also applicable (shayach).
yours
shlomo
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