Reply To: Over-Educated Girls

The prohibition of women learning Gemora is not my belief, but that of Chazal and the Shulchan Aruch.

Despite claims of many authorities stating that women are allowed to learn Gemora nowadays, there are none. None that have any authority to argue with a unanimous halachah in Chazal, Rishonim and Shulchan Aruch – yes, unanimous.

They taught a lie. Simple as that. You will find me zero – not a single opinion that women may be taught in a classroom setting Torah shebal peh. Oh, I know that contemporary Modern Orthodox rabbis have said so, but they themselves are the ones that need to find the authorities that permit, and not a single one of them had.

Rav Moshe Feinstein wrote a teshuva in response to Rav Elya Svei, writing that this as a very simple matter that women are prohibited from learning Mishna or Gemorah.

Rashi says on the spot that the reason we may not teach girls Torah shebal peh is because they will misuse it. There is no mention of any dispensation for “shakleh vetaryeh” as opposed to “svara”. This is a Modern Orthodox idea, created ex nihilo without any source whatsoever. And it makes no sense, since much of shakla vetaryah is svara anyway. It would be impossible to seperate the two, nor, for the record, do the girls’ Gemroa classes make the attempt.

In Shulchan Aruch 241:6 it rules that even Torah shebiksav is prohibited l’chatchilah to teach women. The Taz (#4) explains that from Hakhael we see that the basic, surface-level reading and understanding of Torah shebiksav is permitted, and the intent of the Shulchan Aruch is that the explication of Torah shebiksav is assur lchatchilah. Quote: “Limud peirush divrei Torah derech hischakmus v’havanah” is prohibited lchatchilah.

The Maharil (199) rules that it is best not to teach women Torah at all – even the Halachos that they need to know, which are permitted – rather, they should learn those Halachos from their homes and asking shailos.

Clearly, this is not much of an option today, so we have girls schools. And we do have the Chofetz Chaim that said nowadays we should teach them hashkafa and halachah, none of which was ever assur anyway. But any Mishna or Gemora? Still assur.

The Gemora, Rambam and Shulchan Aruch rule unanimously that a father may not teach his daughter Gemora – that is not a public instruction, but a private one.