[Avodah] Women and Tallis

[Isaac Balbin]

> From: Micha Berger <micha at aishdas.org>
> 
> This is part of RYBS's general position about the relationship between
> halakhah and following the Torah. One that I believe is distinctly Brisk.
> 
> Recall that this is someone who wondered for years what the value of
> nevu'ah was, given that it can't relay halakhah. Most of us place more
> importance on things that move us spiritually and never would have even
> asked the question.

I'm not sure where you get the "most" of us from, but I see it a very valid question!
If the task of the human is Veholachto Bidrochov then the more automaton like will
view the world solely through this prism without Hachonos.

> Nevu'ah is for mussar, it's for deveiqus -- it can
> have value without contributing to the din.

Deveikus for the Rav is keeping Halacha

> 
> We do many things that come from sources outside the mitzvah. "Hinei
> Keil yeshuasi" before Havdalah, for example. The particular patterns of
> hand washing most qehillos use for neigl vasr or before hamotzi. Qabbalas
> Shabbos. Etc, etc, etc...
And the Rav and others are quite capable of excising such things unless there is
a shitas hagro to support it

> 
> Why is this woman wanting to do something that makes her feel connected
> to the Borei valueless just because it is non-halachic?

It is valueless within the confines of Jewish law, which defines how one should ACT.
The ACT was not a Jewish act. 

> Would RYBS have
> given the same advice to NCSY and tell them to stop doing kumzitzin or
> a pre-havdalah "ebbing" for an hour?
That depends. If those people would be learning torah at the time they were
ebbing and kvetching, then he might have had something to say.

> 
> This is the poseiq who created a new variant of the minhagim of aveilus
> during the 3 weeks and 9 days because of his position that all minhagim
> are stamped with the matbei'os of halakhah, and thus the aveilus of this
> period must parallel to the kinds of mourning of the mitzvah derabbanan
> of aveilus.

I don't believe that this was the Rav's lonely innovation. My recollection is that
there are others before him who held that way.

> 
> Most of us simply don't view halakhah this way, so I don't see how citing
> RYBS's answer can be fit into our worldview.

The Rav's answer could also fit into R' Moshe's shita on women practicing
things shelo lishma (okay you'll say it is, or mitoch shelo lishma)

> 
> That said, I see value to R' Aviner's observation about yuhara. It's
> for this reason that when I first got ahold of murex dyed strings,
> my father only wore them on his tallis qatan, not on display. (My own
> tallis qatan's strings /are/ on display...)

Kvar Doshu Bo Rabim. It's okay, you can wear them out in colour. You will be one of many now.
Just like Ashkenazim ignored the Zohar and wear theirs out ...