[Avodah] shelo asani isha

[Chana Luntz]

RMB wrote on Areivim:
> Yitz Younger wrote:
>> The beracha then is giving thanks for the mitzvos that we (men) have
>> which women don't, but from the negative perspective.

> This is the "correct" answer, as it's one given by Rashi (Menachos 43b,
> DH "hainu ishah", 2nd position), and by a number of the Tur's nosei
> keilim. R' Prof Levine gets a "barukh shekivanta". The MA (OC 46 s"q 9)
> invokes it lehalakhah. If you said a later berakhah before one of the
> ones you should have said earlier, you don't go back. Once you thanked
> Hashem for the mitzvos men have that women do not, what's the point in
> thanking him for mitzvos you already included?

And again on Areivim:

> RZL and I already posted what the author of the berakhah and baalei
> mesorah since have said was the point of the berakhah, so I'm
> wondering why this line of reasoning based on the berakhah addressing
> something else still continues.

Well for one thing it involves poskening various machlokus rishonim that
one might otherwise not want to get involved in.

That is, if you adopt the position above, and the current order of
the brochos, then you are assuming that an eved has fewer mitzvos than
(or at least the same number as) a woman.

But that is by no means so poshut. Tosphos in Chagiga holds, for
example, that avadim are chayav in pru u'rvu (whereas of course women
are explicitly defined not to be in the Mishna in Yevamos) as is brought
and discussed at length in the Minchas Chinuch on Mitzva 1 (si'if 3).
The Minchas Chinuch also brings the Turei Even and the Mishna L'Melech
as holding that when we say that the din of an eved is like an isha this
is only with regard to mitzvos aseh shehazman grama, but in relation
to mitzvos aseh sheain hazman grama or mitzvos lo ta'aseh where women
are exempt due to a gzeros hakasuv it is just women who are exempt and
not avadim.

What that means is that if you are doing this on a purely mitzvah count
only, according to these various rishonim, avadim have a whole bunch more
mitzvos that women and hence either you need to reverse the order of the
brochos (ie say shelo asani isha before shelo asani eved), or you need
(as per the Magen Avraham) to stop at shelo asani eved. Even if you
are mesupek as to whether Tosphos, the Mishna L'melech and the Turei
Even are right, you still can't go saying shelo asani isha after you
have said shelo asani eved, because safek in brochos l'hakel. So you
have to be saying that vadai the Tosphos, the Mishna L'melech and the
Turei Even are wrong in order to make your brochos as you currently do.

Or you need to find yourself an alternative reason that validates making
the brochos that will allow you to make them in the order in which you
are making them.

> Tir'u baTov!
> -Micha

Regards
Chana