To valuate a woman based on her ability to "do whatever a man can," is to dishonor womanhood, and all the unique qualities it brings to the table.
17 Comments Posted
I so very much appreciate the diplomatic and insightful way Rabbi Posner deals such gender sensitive issues such as this one. I donned a tallis one single time, just to see if I could, and for me, it quite simply felt as wrong as it did when I bought a pair of women's dress slacks and wore them out, just to see if I could. While I enjoy the friendship of many conservative and reform women who wear them, I frankly cannot. Rabbi Posner conveyed so nicely, in very few words, all the reasons and some additional ones, why I may have felt so uncomfortable. May he continue in strength and health to write such great articles.
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I feel "embraced by arms that love me" when I don my Tallit. I was a Bat Mitzvah at age 74 and worked hard to attain this privilege. I am not a feminist nor competiong with men. I was the only woman with a Tallit recently and the stares did not bother me. Ihis is part of the way I keep MY religion. I wore it at my grandaughter's new husbands auf rauf. I felt like I was the true matriarch of my family as I sat in shul. with my family from all over the country in attendance.
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Indeed, why do we weare kippot at all times when the Torah does not tell us to? The Torah makes no mention of them. Post-biblical law only requires us to wear a kippah at prayer (Mishneh Torah, Ahavah, Hilkhot Tefilah 5:5). The custom is completely minhag. It is also a beautiful act of Kiddush HaShem. Should a woman wish to do something that NONE of us are actually REQUIRED to do, and in doing so also sanctifies the name, why shouldn't she?
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i believe it should be appropriate for women to wear Talith during private prayer.
It should serve the mentioned purposes in the Torah, to remind us :
"Hashem Echad" -- G‑d is One, the G‑d in Heaven who watches over our every action,Omnipresent,
hears our prayers, especially the ones of repentance.
Tal= tent ith= little
It should be a personal meeting place with HaShem closing oneself off from the rest of the world thus taking refuge in the shadow of His wings preventing us from following the inclinations of our heart and eyes which tend to lead us to faithlessness.
It would make one aware of How precious His kindness is, Satiating us with the delight of His House, knowing he will give us to drink from the river of His bliss. For He is the source of life; in His light we see light. He bestows His kindness upon those who know Him, and His righteousness on the upright in heart. Not for show to man or woman, but for shutting out the rest of the world.
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There are many reasons I wear a tallit. I have been growing Jewishly, and when I saw a fabric pattern (gorgeously blooming flowers) I bought it and made my first tallit to express my growth and my delight in my heritage.
When I am in shul, it is my *soul* that counts, and my soul has no gender. It isn't a matter of "doing anything a man can do," but of doing anything a JEW can do. I am a Jew.
The articles above speak of men's and women's differing talents: are there no differences then among men? What specific feminine traits disqualify women from davening or layning Torah? Why should these delights be restricted to males? Or, in some shuls, why may men daven, layn, etc before mixed groups (even when separated by a balcony or mechitzah), when women are restricted to doing so only in all-female groups?
I "have a yearning" to fulfill many mitzvot, while at the same time I do protest against discriminations which have no basis in fact or Torah.
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In Hilchot 3:9, Maimonides states that a woman can wear a Tallit if she chooses, she is not required to say the blessings, although other sources say she is. It is a matter of choice for women, obligation for men.
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Regarding a misstep...You commented, " on a mystical level, the inner workings of this mitzvah are male oriented and just don't "do it" for a woman.
To clarify one mystical need for women that was overlooked, WINGS/fringes include women, Psalm 36:5-9,
“take refuge in the shadow of thy wings”. Every soul/person needs protection in the wings as we are all susceptible to be overtaken by evil or bad choices. Tallit provide a protection much like all Jewish homes are to have Mezuzot for protection. Mezuzot are not exclusive for men residing in a home, women need the same protection-regardless of the soul's internal sphere's origin (the mystical part). Every soul needs support and connection to Hashem. Within the WINGS is sanctuary. Worthy to mention is tractate Menachot 643a, the Talmud further clarifies concerning the tzitzit, G-D commanded all the Children of Israel--Kohenim, Leviyyim, Yisraelim, converts, women and slaves. So yes, Tallit would CERTAINLY be intended for women.
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RE: Undue attention to excessive piety in an inappropriately ostentatious manner.
So, when a man is covering his head with his tallit instead of doning it on his shoulders, wouldn't that be considered undue piety and in an inappropriate and ostentatious manner? It looks that way to me. Is it ok for me to stand up and call it out so it doesn't happen again? You know, use it as an example.
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Perhaps Jews ought to rethink the Amidah, wasn't Chana the one who cried out and showed excessive piety in an inappropriately ostentatious manner? So much so, she was thought to be drunk? Why on earth would we use that woman's ostentatious manner to inspire The 13 parts of the Amidah?
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Is it not true that in the Torah it is written in Num. 15:38-39 that G-d's instructions were that the "childern" of Israel should wear the garment? Does not the word Childern mean both men and women? Therefore I believe a woman not only can but was instructed by G-d to wear the Tzitzit attatched to a four corner garment. If the Tzitzit is used as a " reminder " I choose as a woman to keep the reminder near me always also. I'm not competing for the man's position, I am only choosing to fulfill a commandment of G-d having a visual as a reminder.
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This is a perfect example of why the Christians who use the KJV get things all wrong. The Hebrew original states speak to the בני ישראל--better translated as the "sons of Israel."
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The poster writes:
"... wasn't Chana the one who cried out and showed excessive piety in an inappropriately ostentatious manner? So much so, she was thought to be drunk? "
Chana was consumed with grief. In the biblical account, she uttered her prayers so quietly that only her lips moved; therefore the High priest Eli thought she was drunk.
There was nothing ostentatious about Chana's piety.
As a "liberated," conservative female Jew I thoroughly agree with Menachem Posner - since G-d does not require that a woman wear a tallit, there is no need for her to wear one. Any respectful and appropriate headcovering will be just fine.
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I personaly wear a Tallis at home when I say my prayers. I do not wear it at synagogue, only in my own home, it does not draw any attention or cause any problems, I wear it only when I am alone with HaShem. Is it still, then, wrong? I wear it because, as a young woman at University, I need that reminder, which is the basis of Tzitzit.
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I cannot imagine that wearing a Tallit at home is in any way wrong. My personal belief is that G-d requires certain things of men because they are more easily distracted, and therefore more removed, from G-d's intent in all things worldly, whereas women feel G-d's grace in a more personal and immediate way.
The bottom line, I think, is that any religious garment should be meant to draw the wearer closer to G-d, but not to distract others or in any way garner attention toward the wearer.
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Why would a woman want to wear it if she is not commanded to? "Because she doesn't have to do only what is commanded, she does so by choice, not by order". At least, that's for me. My Mine has purple stripes and little fringes all around the shorter edges, and is expressly approved by my rabbi after he examined it. Having been struggling greatly to come fully out of Wicca, my rabbi said I need all the covering I can get. I find that I like to wear it because it comforts me and reminds me that I am following YHWH now. I even wear tzitziz on my clothes so they remind me also. They have kept me several times from nose diving back to my old path, they remind me of my desire to follow Torah. I really really loved Wicca so much, but I find the Jewish ways will help me follow YHWH, and I want to because He loves me, He showed me that. So I want to love Him by obeying Him. Wicca is a matriarchal system and coming out of it, I don't want to skip commands, I do the mitzvah freely from my heart.
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An excellent compromise for any frum woman so inclined (e.g., a Ger) would be to wear tzitit (tallis katan) - with the fringes in, as some men also do. They are aided by the fact that frum dresses would easily enable the fringes to hang inside (even with a separate blouse. Men seeing them in public (or in private) would not know that they are wearing them, but they themselves could take pride in fulfilling the mitzvah in this manner.
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The responsum by Reb Moshe is very powerful and worthwhile, so I wanted to point out that there seems to be a typo in the citations of this article: I found the responsum in Orech Chaim, Part IV, not Part V.
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