[Avodah] Women's zimun

[T613K at aol.com]

But for a seminary to preach to all of 
> their students that  the Gra is the correct opinion, and they should 
> all abandon their  tradition of not doing it, is arguably, Poretz 
> Geder.

In which  case, every seminary and yeshiva that I am aware of is  poretz
geder.
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>>IIRC  there's a tshuva of either R' MF or the Chasam Sofer that
specifically allows  a talmid to change his minhag to follow that of his
Yeshiva.  .<<

KT
Joel Rich




>>>>>
There is a difference between a man changing his minhag to conform with his  
yeshiva's and a woman changing her minhag to conform with her seminary's  
minhagim.   A woman is much more under the authority of her father  while single, 
and of her husband when married.  So IMO girls should not be  encouraged to 
take on new minhagim. 
 
However, I concede that bentshing with a mezuman has enough textual support  
to permit it that I guess if a woman takes it on, she isn't really "changing a 
 minhag."  Any more than if she took it upon herself to say Tehillim every  
day, that she would be "changing her minhag."    Just because she  didn't use 
to say Tehillim doesn't mean she had a "minhag /not/ to say  Tehillim."  So 
unless her father or husband has a specific objection to her  bentshing with a 
mezuman, I guess a woman could choose to take on that  practice.  But the same 
would not be true of /every/ minhag -- that a woman  should do what her sem 
taught her, rather than what her father or husband  does.
 
One other point about women davening with a mezuman:  For reasons  that have 
already been discussed a bit on Areivim, there are specific public  policy 
issues in today's political climate that would require a woman to do a  serious 
cheshbon hanefesh as to WHY she wants to take on zimun, before she does  so.


--Toby  Katz
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