[Avodah] : shelo asani isha

[Micha Berger]

On Sun, Aug 21, 2011 at 01:01:10PM +0100, Chana Luntz wrote:
: RMB writes:
: > Who is the earliest source for positing another reason for these three
: > berakhos *to the exclusion of* the number of mitzvos? (Rashi gives two
: > sevaros, including this one.)

: But isn't the classic reason why Rashi gives two sevoros because the first
: one is problematic, even if it seems the most straightforward one.

The bit about more mitzvos is Rashi's second explanation, not first.
Menachos 43b d"h "hainu ishah. So, it would seem the problematic answer is
"de'ishah nami shifchah lebaalah ke'eved lerabo", and therefore Rashi
gives the second one. In which, BTW, he says that "L"A hainu ishah
dele'inyan mitzvos, ISHAH VE"EVED SHAVIN..." So, according to Rashi,
the three berakhos are about number of mitzvos, and yet he is clear to
assert that in the 2nd and 3rd berakhos men thank HQBH for the same set
of mitzvos!

...
: But that leaves you with an understanding that the reason today men say
: shelo asani isha is due to minhag and possibly nothing more....

Preserving Chazal's matbei'os is more than simple minhag, no?

:> The Perushim say "shelo asani nakhri/ah",
:> which is an old Ashkenaz variant, thereby avoiding members of the "goy
:> qadosh" saying "shelo asani goy".
: 
: Yes, the Sde Chemed does not like shelo asani hakhri either (he also doesn't
: think it gets you there).
: 
: As I said, I think the reality of the world is that they understand "goy" as
: in colloquial speech and refuse to get hung up on grammatical niceties.
: Point being, that if it doesn't bother you as untrue...

My point was that I don't think the Gra advocated "she'asani Yisrael", since
his successors say a "shelo asani" variant.

...
: That seems to be ROY's position - although only up to a point, because of
: course he won't allow sheasani k'rotzono with shem and malchus given that it
: is not a bracha in the gemora, regardless of the siddur...

As an Ashk (which is itself an arguable proposition), I am at least
within the realm of my mesorah to be less bothered by such things.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Nothing so soothes our vanity as a display of
micha at aishdas.org        greater vanity in others; it makes us vain,
http://www.aishdas.org   in fact, of our modesty.
Fax: (270) 514-1507              -Louis Kronenberger, writer (1904-1980)