R' Chaim Kanievski Women Wearing Tefillin

No, Gavra, you can’t compare an individual’s safek treifa to setting precedent for a further step towards egalitarianism.

Apushutayid, I think Rabbi Twersky actually made a good case for there being extenuating circumstances to asser, although it’s not necessary to stretch here to maintain the basic halacha here, which is that it’s assur.

PAA, you are indeed advocating for women to be allowed to wear tefillin, and bringing more mareh m’komos of shittos which we don’t have a mesorah to follow doesn’t help your case.

Would you agree thay you are defending it?

“When individuals, regardless of vocation or title, grant license to women to don tefillin, nolens volens, they validate the insidiousness of egalitarianism.”

I think what I’m not sure about here is “license” and “validate”. Our society (for good or evil) has allowed itself to use pesakim as a means to validate their behavior, both on the left and the right. Mostly, this is a bad thing, as one needs to have their own Rov who can pasken based on their own needs. I’m also very concerned about this concept being adopted by others who will twist it for their own purposes. I still don’t see a single psak in what is explicitly explained to be an exception validating actions by others, but after thinking about it am also aware that my view is clouded by my values of the individual psak which society does not share.

All that being said, if Rabbi Twerski feels that he would rather allow these girls go to a conservative school due to fear of allowing an opening for anti-Torah values, its not my place to argue. I’m glad that I don’t have to make that decision.

I would like to mention a few kashyas I have on the pshat from R’ Chaim shlit”a. I would appreciate if anyone has any possible teirutzim.

At the beginning of the piece,

http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=40793&st=&pgnum=6

he quotes from Targum Yonoson that there is an issur of lo silbash for a woman to wear tallis and tefillin, since there is no mitzvah whatsoever. On this basis, he asks on the Rema why, since we hold like Rabbeinu Tam that women can perform mitzvos asei shehazman grama, should there be a problem of lo silbash.

He also mentions that the Levush also refers to the issur of lo silbash.

1) Even if there is an issur of lo silbash (technically, lo yihyeh kli gever al isha), why would that preclude an additional problem of guf naki? Why make a second machlokes about that?

2) The Bais Yosef he quotes assers based on a Kol Bo, and the reason brought is clearly guf naki. Why would there be a kashya on the Rema, whose issur is based on guf naki, regardless of the fact that we pasken like Rabbeinu Tam? Even were we to assume that the Targum Yonoson’s problem of lo silbash somehow is exclusive of guf naki, we are not going like the T”Y anyhow, but rather like the K”B, based on the P’sikta and Yerushalmi.

3) The Levush in Hilchos Tefillin

http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=14586&st=&pgnum=37&hilite=

clearly assers based on guf naki. Why does R’ Chaim put him together with the Targum Yonoson?

The Levush refers to the issur of lo yilbash only in Hilchos Tzitzis.

http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=14586&st=&pgnum=22

If we want the Levush and Targum Yonoson to be in agreement, it would seem to make more sense to say that the T”Y (which is on the passuk of lo yih’yeh in parshas Ki Seitzei)

http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=14085&st=&pgnum=261

is giving an example of lo yih’yeh, but not limiting the issur of a woman wearing tefillin to lo yih’yeh.

It’s also worth noting, in context of the broader discussion, that the Levush (Hilchos Tzitzis) is against women wearing a tallis.

??? ?”? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ???? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ?? (??”? ??? ?”? ???? ?’). ???? ????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ???????, ?? ????? ????, ??? ??? ????, ?? ????. ??????? ?? ????? ????? ?? ??? ??? ??? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ??. ??? ?? ??????

the Targum Yonasan holds that it’s an issur of lo yihyeh kli gever al isha BECAUSE we don’t say ???? ?????? ????

That part, I understand.

and that this is the reason for the man d’amar in the psikta that says that the chachamim protested Michal.

That part, I have difficulty with, since Tosafos and others learn it’s because of guf naki. Why should R’ Chaim have a tzorich iyun on the Rema for paskening like Tosafos and the Kol Bo as explained by the Bais Yosef?

DaasYochid:You have cut your quote from the Levush on tallis in half.Earlier,he clearly writes that women can put on a tallis and even say a brocho.What he says about “jehuro”is repeated in the Remo.”jehuro” is rather a mild critique and , in essence, women could wear a tallis, especially if it is a tallis koton, where the issue of “jehuro” is not relevant,.

The only question I hear is why he didn’t just say tzarich iyun directly on the kol bo.

What’s shver with trying to shtim the Psikta and Yerushalmi with nashim somchos reshus?

It is found in the Rishonim, and it is not the derech to question sevaros found in the Rishonim. It certainly is hard to understand how he would question the Rema for going with the Bais Yosef/ Kol Bo and Tosafos.

Thanks. PAA had explained that, I had responded appropriately based on that, and I’m pretty sure I knew that the Maharshal’s last name was Luria. I have no idea why I said I wasn’t familiar with it, other than not having heard if it prior.

I personally think it’s not a good idea for girls to wear tefillin. yes maybe some righteous women in the past were able to do it, like Rashi’s daughters, but this generation is not on their level of kedusha.

Some girls feel that it enhances their prayers. While that may be, you need to weight the pro and con. There are a lot of conditions that need to be met. If we can do it perfectly, that’s good. But if we mess up, then it becomes an aveira instead of a mitzvah. Why, because it’s Not our obligation to do it. Men are obligated to do it, and so if they mess up, it’s still a mitzvah because they were told to do it.

What people need to understand is that Hashem knows what people need. And so if men are told to wear tefillin and women are not, then it’s because we don’t spiritually need it. We should focus on the mitzvos that Hashem wants us to do. 🙂

BTW do married women wear Tefillin shel Rosh over their wig? or are they allowed to temporarily remove their wig to place Tefillin directly on their head?

Meanwhile we should be giving Rav Chaim Kanievsky shlita some breathing space as he is just emerging from having commemorated 3rd Johrzeit of his beloved Rebbetzen, this past Shabbos:- Shelishi Shel Sukkos.

No talking bichlal, or no talking in between putting on tefillin shel rosh and tefillin shel yad? What other conditions?