[Avodah] : Rav Shimon Schwab on Women Learning Torah

[Chana Luntz via Avodah]

RYL writes:

>The following is from pages 274 - 275 of Rav Schwab on Chumash.

>Learning for the sake of learning, just to occupy one's mind with the
intricacies of the Torah, even if the practical application of the law is
already known, is limited to men.

>A woman who learns Torah does not become greater in yiras Shamayim because
of it. True, she may become very learned in Torah, but this is not the
object of talmud Torah. A woman may become a great philosopher or scientist,
but Torah is not >philosophy or science. Torah is the way Hakadosh Baruch Hu
communicates with us.

>Only because talmud Torah is a mitzvah, a positive commandment for man, can
it be a means to connect to Hashem and thereby increase his yiras Shamayim.
Because a woman has no specific mitzvah of talmud Torah, she cannot utilize
it as a means to >increase her many ways of connection to Hashem. If a man
is a great talmid chacham, having learned the entire Talmud, and has not
become a greater yerei Shamayim this learning has not achieved its purpose.
If a woman were to learn and know >Gemara just as well as a man, it still
would not make her one iota better than she is. It would have no influence
on her relationship with Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Shehasani kirtzono - He has
made me according to his will, means that a woman does not need >talmud
Torah to come close to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. A woman can even have prophecy -
the closest possible relationship to Hakadosh Baruch Hu - without learning
Torah.

It would appear that Rav Schwab did not hold like the Ran (Chiddushei HaRan
Rosh Hashana (daf 33a or 9b in the pages of the Rif)):

דכיון שנוטלות עליהן שכר דהא א"ר יוסי בר' חנינא גדול המצוה ועושה ממי שאינו
מצווה ועושה ומדקאמר גדול אלמא למי שאינו מצוה ועושה שכר יש לו הלכך בכלל מצוה
הן ומברכות. 

"and since it is placed on them reward since behold Rabbi Yosi b’Rabbi
Chanina said greater is one who is commanded and does, and from the language
of greater we see that one who is not commanded and does gets reward
therefore they are in the category of commanded and they bless. "

In other words - what the Ran is saying (and others appear to say this also,
it is just that IMHO amongst the Rishonim the Ran is the clearest), is that
it is not that there is no reward for a woman performing a mitzvah in which
she is not commanded, it is just less than that of a man - the language of
"greater" implying that indeed there is a "lesser" reward.  And due to this
a woman may make  brachos on mitzvos aseh shehazman grama.  Rav Moshe (in
Shut Igeros Moshe Orech Chaim chelek 3 siman 94) uses this understanding
that mitzvos that women are not commanded in but do are still characterised
fundamentally as mitzvos, with reward, to justify the common practice of men
bringing a lulav through reshus harabim in order to allow their womenfolk to
shake (in the face of the Shagas Ariyeh's objection that this violates not
just an issur d'rabbanan, but an issur d'orisa).

Rav Schwab however seems from this piece to hold that learning  does not
constitute any form of mitzvah for a woman.  In this regard, however, there
is no reason to make a distinction between learning and any of the other
mitzvos from which women are exempt, such as shofar and lulav,  and hence he
would presumably hold,  against Rav Moshe and the others who follow the Ran
etc that there is nothing of value in women performing lulav or shofar
either.  And if he allowed women to make brachos at all on mitzvos aseh
shehazman grama (which presumably he did, given that it would go against the
whole Ashekenazi tradition not to), it would therefore have presumably to be
on the basis of nachas ruach - ie women will feel bad - and not because it
is something intrinsically good for a woman to do; so that none of these
actions, such as taking a lulav or listening to shofar, would have any
influence on a woman's relationship with HaKadosh Baruch Hu.  Shehasani
kirtzono includes lulav and shofar as much as it includes talmud torah.

>Rav Schwab on Prayer, page 33

>Women are also obligated to say Birkas ha Torah. While patur (exempt) from
talmud Torah purely for the sake of learning, women are, nevertheless.
>obligated to learn the halachos of the mitzvos so they can properly fulfill
them. With the exception of the few time-bound mitzvos, women have the same
obligation as men to know and keep the vast majority of the mitzvos of the
Torah. It is therefore >incumbent upon women to learn the details of these
mitzvos in order to observe them properly. How can women keep Shabbos or
Yorn Tov properly without knowing the applicable halachos?

>How can a woman conduct a business if she is not familiar with the dinim
(laws) of ribbis (interest), ona'ah (misrepresentation or price fraud), or
gezel (outright theft).  The difference is only in the goal of the learning.
>For a man, in addition to the need to know the practical halachos in order
to apply them, it is also a mitzvah to occupy himself with talmud Torah as a
form of avodas Hashem, serving Hashem. This is so even if there is no
immediate need for this >knowledge in practice, either because he already
knows  the dinim, or because his immediate circumstances do not require the
application of what he is learning. However, for a woman, the purpose of the
learning is to gain the knowledge in order to >put it into practice.

Note that the Gra's explanation for  why women are able to make birchas
hatorah is due women generally being able to make brachos upon mitzvos that
she is exempt from, such as shofar and lulav.  The problem of course with
this Gra, is that while it explains the Ashkenazi tradition, it is not a
useful explanation for the Shulchan Aruch, who generally rules that women
may not make brachos on mitzvos aseh shehazman grama, but nevertheless holds
that women should make birchas hatorah. (Note that the Shulchan Aruch is not
necessarily  disagreeing with the Ran that there is some form of intrinsic
mitzvah in a woman performing mitzvos aseh shehazman grama, just that as he
holds that it is an issur d'orisa to say a bracha when not strictly
instituted by the Chachamim, so therefore performance of mitzvos aseh
should, in his view, be without the bracha).  In order to explain the
Shulchan Aruch, one needs to come up with some form of chiyuv for learning
Torah, which is what this "tzvei dinnim" in talmud torah  that Rav Schwarb
articulates here achieves (I believe it is actually sourced in the Nefesh
HaChaim).  

However in articulating the opinion the way he does, Rav Shwab would seem to
deny the existence of any form of mitzvah value to any of the non-commanded
mitzvos - and in doing so, would seem to be putting himself into conflict
with the position of most achronim, and siding with those rishonim (rejected
by the Shulchan Aruch and Rema) who took a negative view of women performing
mitzvos aseh shehazman grama at all.

Regards

Chana

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