[Avodah] Yom Tov Sheni for Olim LeReget to the Beit Mikdash

[Heather Luntz]

RET writes:

> BTW is the shitah of RT allowing women to say a beracha on mitzvat aseh
> she-hazman gerama connected with teh RT on minhag?

No, it is related to an understanding of the meaning of "reshut" as in
"nashim somichot reshut".  Tosphos (and we) posken like Rabbi Yose and Rabbi
Shimon who learn out from daber l'benei yisroel that benei yisroel somchim
(as a chiyuv) benot yisroel somichot reshut (see Rosh Hashana 33a and
Tosphot there).  The best way I can understand this is that they are
understanding reshut as in effect turning a mitzvah that is for a man is a
chiyuv into, for a woman, a kind of mitzvah kayemet - ie, she doesn't have
to do it, a bit like a man doesn't have to go out and buy a four cornered
garment, but that if she does do it, it is a real genuine mitzvah.  [This
understanding appears to be more clearly held by the Ra'avid and possibly by
Rashi, who seem to hold that the smicha that the women were doing that was a
reshut, was a full fledged smicha, involving leaning with all their strength
on the animal.  It is a bit harder to fully understand this in Tosphot, who
hold that what the women were doing were floating their hands on the korban,
thus not violating the d'orita prohibition of working with kodshim, but
rather were (or would have been absent this limud) only violating the
rabbinic prohibition of looking like one was working with kodshim (see
Chullin 85a d'h nashim somchot reshut).  But even so, Tosphot holds that the
strength of the "reshut" permission is enough to set aside what would
otherwise be rabbinic prohibitions - as indeed is pretty universally held,
given that everybody I know will send somebody to go blow a shofar for a
woman who cannot make it to the regular shofar blowing on Rosh Hashana,
despite that otherwise violating the rabbinic prohibition of blowing the
shofar on Rosh Hashana without need.  One then can perhaps argue in Tosfot
that when they say that women say "vitzivanu" it is meant indeed - that
women are commanded that if they want to they can do the mitzvah - ie a kind
of mitzvah kayemet].

> Eli Turkel

Regards

Chana