[Avodah] The tallit without tzitzit

[Chana Luntz]

RMB writes:

<<We discussed the story in a thread started by RJK at
http://lists.aishdas.org/pipermail/avodah-aishdas.org/2018q2/042647.html.
There is a variation whether one woman or a group of women were involved,
which is why RJK questioned its veracity.
R Mayer Twersky, R Meiselman, the Frimers and R Seth Mandel all tell the
story. R Meiselman and the Frimers both write that they were told the story
by R Yehuda Kelemer, the rabbi of the YI of Brookline at the time, and that
the story happened in the mid-70s.
<<RSM writes:
> Most of the women accepted this response, because the Rav treated 
> their question with genuine respect and listened to their grievances.
So, I guess you had to be there.>>

But this is why the RSM version stretches credibility - because the full
picture of what he writes is:

"and proposed that there first be a trial period during which they would
wear colored cloaks as tallitot, but without tzitzit and without reciting a
berachah. He asked them to note how they feel wearing them and to come back
after two weeks and confer with him again. After two weeks, they reconvened,
and when the Rav asked these women how they felt, they told him how inspired
they felt when wearing the cloaks. The Rav replied that that was excellent,
that they should definitely continue wearing the cloaks and praying with
kavanah, and that there was no need to wear the tallitot with tzitzit that
men wore. Most of the women accepted this response, because the Rav treated
their question with genuine respect and listened to their grievances."

That is, according to RSM, RYBS was *happy* for the women to continue with a
ceremonial approach in which there was no mitzvah content, but certain
actions (the wearing of coloured cloaks) heightened their "religious high".
Not only that, he encouraged them  to continue to daven with the coloured
cloaks, without the tzitzit.  Coloured cloaks are even less that white
tablecloths and candelabras, in that they are not even traditional, just a
rough imitation of the white cloaks worn by men.  This story, if accurate,
is like RYBS encouraging non-Jews to use coloured tablecloths (instead of
bare tables),  for those who felt their sabbath lacked ceremony.  It is
totally out of keeping with everything else you (and others) have said about
RYBS, including in your previous posts on this subject, but it does mean
that If RSM's account were true, then indeed RBYS is highly encouraging of
nachas ruach via non mitzvah ceremony, at least in the case of feminist
women.

The other reason why RSM's account strains credibility is this.  If there
were a group of feminists in Boston who were told to, and accepted, the
wearing of coloured cloaks to daven in - what has happened to those coloured
cloak daveners?  If this really was such an amazing religious high, that
they were encouraged to continue with, then they would have continued and
grown, and others would have joined them.  We would therefore have expected
a community of women in Boston (if not other places where RYBS's remit ran
large) with the minhag to wear coloured cloaks (without tzitzis).  Indeed,
even someone merely reading RSM's account might well be inspired to find a
coloured cloak (without tzitzis) and try and enhance her davening. The fact
that these do not exist strongly points towards the reality that this
account, at least, is fictional.

Unfortunately the link to the Frimers' article no longer works, so I only
have RSS's account from that previous thread (and that is partial), and
Tamar Ross's, and to discuss properly we would need the closest source we
can.  Especially as I suspect that the version of the story that RJR is
referring to is not RSMs, but R' Frimer(s).  

-Micha

Regards

Chana