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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-GB link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoPlainText>On Mon, Jul 20, 2020 at 10:59:57AM +0300 RDS wrote:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> In Hil. Tzitzis 3:9 the Rambam says that women don't make a brocho on a Tallis.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> In [30] the Hag. Maimoniyos brings an interesting concept "in the name <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> of a Gadol": Those Mitzvos which can cause an Aveiro, women don't do.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> E.g. Tefillin could cause "Erva" issues with her exposed hair, Shofar <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>> could cause carrying in a public domain.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'>And then RMB responded:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><<In general, the Rambam doesn't have women making berakhos on mitzvos that they are einum metzuvos ve'osos. Which Sepharadim hold today. To the extent that ROYosef's nusach doesn't have women saying sheim Hashem in birkhos Qeri'as Shema!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>So, I'm not sure why the HM needs to invoke the risk of an aveirah. Lo zakhisi lehavin.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>And more to our point, the lack of berakhah doesn't seem to me to prove the mitzvah itself should be avoided because it means some risk exists.>><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'>We need to back up here.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'>There is a fundamental machlokus in the gemora between Rabbi Yehuda (supported by Rabbi Meir), and Rabbi Yossi (supported by Rabbi Shimon) as to whether women are permitted to perform mitzvos aseh she hzman grama - from which they are exempt. Rabbi Yossi says "reshus" - ie they are allowed. Rabbi Yehuda says no, it is assur for women to perform mitzvos asseh shehazman grama.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'>And there are two explanations given for Rabbi Yehuda forbidding women performing mitzvos aseh shehazman grama. The first (eg by Rashi) is of Bal Tosif. That is, if the Torah says women are exempt from performing certain mitzvos, then for them to go ahead and perform them would violate the principle of bal tosif. However, most rishonim argue that bal tosif does not make sense here, and therefore most rishonim, including those who posken like Rabbi Yehuda, do so not under the principle of bal tosif, but under a principle that can be called "halachic counter-pressure". That is, even Rabbi Yehuda did not forbid all women from doing acts that constitute mitzvos (such as sitting in a sukkah on Sukkos, which, if you follow the bal tosif principle would be ossur for a women to do), but only where there are halachic counter-pressures, and the Haagahos Maimoniyos is quoting some of the halachic counter-pressures that the rishonim discuss.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'>As we all know, we posken (both Sephardim (via the Shulchan Aruch) and Ashkenazim (via the Rema)), like Rabbi Yossi, that women *may* perform mitzvos aseh shehazman grama, and this Rambam is one of the bases for the way the Shulchan Aruch poskens. However:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'> a) there are a significant number of rishonim who posken like Rabbi Yehuda; and<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'>b)even within Rabbi Yossi, there are those who say that Rabbi Yossi only permits where the halachic counter-pressure is something less than a Torah prohibition.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'>If, like the Rambam, you holds that saying a bracha sheino tzricha is a Torah violation, and you hold according to this view in Rabbi Yossi, you end up with the Rambam's position. If you follow Tosfos (Ri and Rabbanu Tam), who holds that saying a bracha sheino tzricha is merely a rabbinic prohibition, then following Rabbi Yossi t would be pushed aside in the circumstance of a woman performing a mitzvah that is a reshus. So holds the Rema.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'>For various talks I have given on this, I have drawn up the following diagrams - I don't know if they will come out in the digest form, but I think people find them useful to understand some of the complexity. [RMB, is there some way of embedding these in the digest?] If you don’t get them, I am happy to email them separately.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='mso-fareast-language:EN-GB'><img width=480 height=360 id="Picture_x0020_5" src="cid:image007.png@01D65F9A.8DC5EF90"></span><span style='color:black'> </span><span style='mso-fareast-language:EN-GB'><img width=480 height=360 id="Picture_x0020_6" src="cid:image008.png@01D65F9A.8DC5EF90"></span><span style='color:black'> </span><span style='mso-fareast-language:EN-GB'><img width=480 height=360 id="Picture_x0020_9" src="cid:image009.png@01D65F9A.8DC5EF90"></span><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'>Bottom line there are a lot of rishonim who did not hold like Rabbi Yossi, and this is reflected in, inter alia, the discussion regarding tzitzis. Because while the Tur, following his father the Rosh and the Rabbanu Tam/Ran happily permit women to make blessings over shofar and lulav, he says in Tur Orech Chaim Hilchot Tzitzit siman 17 “…And the Rambam writes that they may wrap without a blessing, and he is going in his position that explains that women are not able to bless on something from which they are exempt but Rabbanu Tam writes that they are able to bless even though they are exempt and it is better that they do not bless ..”. And the Bach, picking up on this seeming contradiction says (Bach Orech Chaim Siman 17) On “And it is better that they do not bless”; There is to ask from that which he writes in siman 589 in connection with shofar that even though women are exempt they are able to blow and to bless and one should not protest. And it seems to me that it seems from here that in connection with tzitzis that it is not the custom for women to wear, and to bless, if so if a woman comes to ask ab initio if it is permitted to dress in tzitzis and to bless he should say to her that she should not bless because it is better that they should not bless given the disagreement of our rabbis but with shofar where they are already accustomed to blow and to bless they do not protest since they have on whom to rely but if they come to ask ab initio also with shofar you should say to them that they should not bless and we should rely on what was written here regarding tzitzis and this is the law [also] regarding shofar.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'>But, it seems to me, to understand this portion, it is necessary to fully understand the depth of rishonic opposition to women performing mitzvos aseh shehazman grama. The Hagahios Maymoniyos was one of a number of Ashkenazi rishonim who disagreed with Rabbanu Tam/Ri/Ran and held one should posken like Rabbi Yehuda.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'>Regards<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'>Chana<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>