[Avodah] wife lighting menora

[Micha Berger]

On Thu, Dec 09, 2010 at 02:58:44AM -0500, Moshe Y. Gluck wrote:
: R' Rafi Goldmeier asked:
:> Where else do we find a wife being excluded from a mitzva because of the
:> exception of eeshto k'gufo? ...

: Of interest:
...
: http://tinyurl.com/236t85m

He mentions the Maharshal I already cited (thanks to VBM). However,
looking at the teshuvah, it's not clear why the fact that this is beyond
the chiyuv of neir ish ubeiso makes it different. I suggested two
pssibilities, but not in an organized contrast for people to comment
on. So, here it is, a few minutes after tzeis after Zos Chanukah:

1- Because it's not really a chiyuv, not even a single-hand mehadrin,
there isn't enough motivation to override ishto kegufo. I find this
weak because it doesn't explain why there is something to override,
just why this case is unique. But R' Henkin's previous paragraph notes
that ishto kegufo "is not mentioned in the context of personal
obligations" to begin with.

2- In reality the chiyuv is per bayis. As I wrote, to have a husband
and wife light separately implies a split in the bayis. I found this
logically stronger, but textually weaker. The more precise idiom for the
Maharshal to invoke would have been "'beiso' -- zu ishto" (Yuma 1:1),
not ishto kegufo.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             "The most prevalent illness of our generation is
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