[Avodah] woman reading a ketuba

[Micha Berger]

The notion I was pushing when we had this discussion was RHS's position
that the same tzeni'us that we speak of WRT women is why men are supposed
to decline the offer to be chazan. To be thrust into the limelight is
personal sacrifice. Better for us, if we realize it or not, would be to
sit "besoch ami".

Given a private email exchange, I think I still wasn't sufficiently clear
about the assymetry between men and women when I posted about this topic a
while back. It's not the mitzvah part, it's the inequality in chiyuv. If
both genders have the same chiyuv, or the same lack of mitzvah, then why
would there be a point in choosing a specifically man to sacrifice his
avodas Hashem by satisfying the very human need for attention and kavod?

SOMEONE has to stand up front and be sha"tz. Given that one group are
benei chiyuvah, one of them will have to do it. If it's not a chiyuv,
e.g. reading the kesuvah why would the "someone" be specifically
male? It's the one person giving up the opportunity of "besokh ami anokhi
yoshaves" either way.

The moment someone is clamoring to stand up front, rather than taking
the HAVE TO attitude, they're off target. That's the one piece of RHS's
idea I like. And I think it's a good argument for why tehillim groups
are fine, but a WPG designed to be as close as halachically allowed to
a minyan is not.

As I see this argument, it would explain being against WPGs, but having
no problem with women reading the esuvah at a wedding.

It would also explain why RHS sees this one aspect of feminism is actually
against Torah values (hatznei'ah lekhes), rather than a neutral modern
value that the MO Jew would try to accomodate.

Listening to RARR on the subject has convinced me that second-guessing
someone else's motives is counterproductive. WADR to RMF, who does
so in the IM; perhaps because the sho'eil was the rav, not the woman
herself. It's not some feminism vs qedushah dichotomy. It's an exploration
as to whether this aspect of modernity can be used within a derekh of
avodas Hashem, or whether it pulls further. We are all products of our
times -- and we all seek holiness from where we stand.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Strength does not come from winning. Your
micha at aishdas.org        struggles develop your strength When you go
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