[Avodah] Qaddish and Women

[Daniel Israel]

On Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:03:02 -0600 rabbirichwolpoe at gmail.com wrote:
>What is axiomatic about Qaddish?
>
>Not in Shas, but in Midrash
>
>Since it Requires Minyan - therefore is a davar shenikdushah
>It is recited primarily by Shatz in a Tzibbur
>
>Elicits responses (Especially yehei sh'mei)
>
>It was given over to Yesomim to say in lieu of leading entire 
service.
>IOW prefernce was to lead davening
>But since Yassom might be a Qatan...

Alternatively, the yasom may just not be knowledgeable enough to 
serve as sha"tz.  This is consistent with the ma'aseh of R' Akiva 
in the gemara.  I suggest that there is a possible important nafkah 
minah between the two reasons, see below.

>Universal Early Model had only a single reciter at a time.
>
>The folllowing Yekke traditions exist - but not each one in every 
>qehillah.
>    One zogger
>    Recited in frony on side of. Shatz
>    Tallis is worn (some places) for K'vod Tzibbur (even in yekke
>       shuls that have multiple zoggers) even for Arvis
>
>Mah hatzad Hashaveh?
>
>The reciter is acting as defacto Shatz
>
>_________________
>
>Ergo, from this model
>No woman may recite alone.
>
>However, she may either do
>A shoma'as k'oneh
>OR
>B recite along with men.

But, if it was instituted originally for a yasom, who cannot act as 
sha"tz, and it was originally instituted as a single sayer, then we 
see that it either is not a davar shebikedusha, or it is a special 
exception of some sort.  If a katan can lead it, why not an isha?  
Unless, as I say above, it was not instituted for katanim, but for 
am haratzim- in which case we should posken today that a katan 
can't lead (does anyone hold like that?).

Just thinking "out loud".

--
Daniel M. Israel
dmi1 at cornell.edu