<br><div><span class="gmail_quote">On 10/3/07, <b class="gmail_sendername"><a href="mailto:T613K@aol.com">T613K@aol.com</a></b> <<a href="mailto:T613K@aol.com">T613K@aol.com</a>> wrote:</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
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<div><font style="background-color: transparent;" color="#000000" face="Arial" size="2">From: David Riceman <<a href="mailto:driceman@att.net" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">driceman@att.net
</a>><br>>>I suspect this is
a sociological phenomenon rather than a halachic one. <br>One analogue in
America is the elevation of mehitza in shul from a <br>custom not even mentioned
in Shulhan Aruch to the fourteenth ikkar, <br>which distinguishes observant Jews
from non-observant Jews. <<</font></div>
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<div>Mechitza is only a "minhag"? In Europe they didn't have mechitzos in
shul? Men and women sat together? Or they sat separately but with no
physical separation?</div>
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<div><font color="#0000ff" face="Arial" lang="0" size="2"><br><b>--Toby
Katz<br>=============</b></font><br></div></div></font></div></blockquote></div><br>I think the issue to which R. David Ricment refers is that Mehcitza is not clearly codified in Tur/Shulchan Aruch etc. I see it as highly implicit [mashma lehedya] in the Rambam hilchos 'Krias Shema" where he discusses the erva of excrement and of nudity The Rambam cites the passuk lo yir'eh lecha ervas davar. However, Rambam does not seem to include this passuk in his Taryag. B"H I was learning Sefer Mitzvos Hashem and he brings down the SMAK who indeed considers this passuk a d'orraisso. If the SMAK is normative - at least in Ashkenaz - then any doubt would be a s'feik d'orraisso..
<br><br>There are indeed those people [inlcuding rabbis] who consider a mechitza only a Minhag .<br>IMHO this is misleading because - aisi al pi Rambam- you can ONLY make that case if all the women in shul are dressed in something like Moslem Burkas. In a modern society that would be virtually impossible.
<br><br>-- <br>Gmar Tov<br>Best Wishes for 5768,<br><a href="mailto:RabbiRichWolpoe@Gmail.com">RabbiRichWolpoe@Gmail.com</a><br>Please Visit: <br><a href="http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/">http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/</a>