[Avodah] women reading megillah for men

[Esther and Aryeh Frimer]

    It should be made clear that there is absolutely nothing new in Rav Ovadiah Yosef's recent pronouncement and he has been saying this for years. He maintains that the mehaber in OH 689:1 holds that women are obligated equally with men and hence can be motsi them. In 689:2, the Mehaber brings a dissenting view that women cannot be motsi men. However, the Halakha says Rav Ovadiah is like the first opinion, but becauise of the dissenting view, one should be Mahmir leHatkhilla. This is the Psak for Sefaradim ONLY!

    The Rema in 689:2  rules like the Behag that women cannot be motsi men. That is Ashkenazic Pesak.



    Regarding women's Megilla readings for women R. Ovadiah Yosef, Yabia Omer, VIII, O.H., sec. 56, end of no. 4 writes: “...the custom of women who make a minyan by themselves for mikra Megilla...should be encouraged.” Thus, he holds this is leKhatehilla. Indeed, his son R. David Yosef, Torat ha-Moadim: Hilkhot u-Minhagei Purim ve-Hodesh Adar, sec. 5., note 9, p. 139, s.v ve-ha-Rema, indicates that despite the rulings of Magen Avraham and Korban Netanel, Ashkenazi (and certainly Sefardi) women can read for women. For more on this subject, see:  “Women’s Megillah Reading,” Aryeh A. Frimer, In “Traditions and Celebrations for the Bat Mitzvah,” Ora Wiskind Elper, Editor; Urim Publications: Jerusalem, 2003; pp. 281-304. Word file available at: http://www.matan.org.il/Data/UploadedFiles/Free/bm_Frimer_eng_101.doc; PDF file available online at: http://www.mail-jewish.org/Women%27sMegillaReadingArticle.pdf; HTML files available at http://www.lookstein.org/articles/women_megilla_reading.htm; http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/english/tfila/frimer2.htm. 



    RO Yosef is also quoted in this shiur as permitting one to read from a Megilla written by a woman. There is nothing new here either and this has been his public position since 1983. See: Yabi`a Omer 8, Orah Hayyim #55, starting from the middle of sec. 3.



Kol Tuv

    Aryeh (from home)



--------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Aryeh A. Frimer
Ethel and David Resnick Professor
   of Active Oxygen Chemistry
Chemistry Dept., Bar-Ilan University
Ramat Gan 52900, ISRAEL
E-mail: FrimeA at mail.biu.ac.il
Tel: 972-3-5318610; Fax: 972-3-7384053
Tel Home: 972-8-9473819/9470834
Cellphone: 972-54-7540761



 

----- Original Message ----- 
  From: rabbirichwolpoe at gmail.com 
  To: Frimer Aryeh ; Micha Berger 
  Sent: Monday, March 02, 2009 9:49 PM
  Subject: Re: [Avodah] women reading megillah for men



  ROY paskens a woman can read the megillah for men bideved
  (ie no men available)"

  Anybody know ROYS position re: women reading for other women(e.g. Stern College)?  Does he hold  lechatchila or not?

  Kt
  Rrw
  Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.aishdas.org/pipermail/avodah-aishdas.org/attachments/20090302/cfce02e8/attachment-0002.htm>