Reply To: Ta'arovet Hametz kadma l' Pesach

Menahot 43b says that women are patur from the mitzva of tzitzit. The Rambam paskens that a woman is permitted to wear tzitzit without a braha (Hilkhot Tzitzit 3:9) Interestingly, the Raavad is more lenient than the Rambam and says that there are those who say that a woman can make the braha on tallet (Rambam uses the lashon of wrapping, implying the tallet gadol, as opposed to tallet katan). Tosafot also say a woman can make the braha, citing examples of women taking upon themselves voluntary performance of mitzvot, including Michal bat Shaul haMelech wearing tefillin as proof for women wearing tallet and making the braha. The Hayei Adam actually permits women to make braha on the tzitzit/tallet.

Some say based on the Targum Yonatan that a tallet is a men’s garment; the problem with this is that a) Targumim are non-halakhic texts, and b)Sifre on Bamidbar 15:37-38 indicates that women are implied in the mitzva of tzitzit, with R’ Shimon paskening that woman are patur.

Views in the poskim which object to women wearing the tallet do so on the grounds that such constitutes “yuhara.”

In his Beit Yoseph commentary on Tur Orach Chayim 17, Rabbi Yoseph Karo mentions this concern in the name of the Agur and Rabbi Yoseph Molin, although he also quotes Molin as reporting

that a woman in his community did wear tsitsit. In the Shulchan Aruch, Rabbi Karo does not mention this reservation, but he also does not explicitly say that women may wear tsitsit. In his

gloss on Shulchan Aruch, Rabbi Moses Isserles says regarding the exemption of women for ??”? ? ???? ????? ????, ???? ????? ??? ??? ???? ???? ??? ???? ????, ?, ” ,wearing tsitsit nevertheless, if they want to wrap (in ???? ??????, ??? ?? ?? ????? ?????, ????? ????? ???? ???? tsitsit) and make a blessing on it, the permission is in their hands; however it appears as haughtiness, and therefore they should not wear tsitsit, since it is not a personal obligation. While this value judgment may have its time and place, I would be quite reticent to deny a person’s right to do a mitzvah (whether obligatory or optional) because of external perceptions of haughtiness (note that Rabbi Isserles does not suggest that a woman who chooses to wear tsitsit should be stopped).

I would object to women wearing the tallit and making the braha, but based on the sources, including, most significantly, the Rambam, I don’t see grounds for protestation if a woman decides to don the tallet gadol. Making the braha, though, I feel would be assur, based on the Rambam. Even R’ Moshe Feinstein allows a woman to wear a tallit, albeit one distinct from a man’s tallet.

I think that a chiluk needs to be made between political issues of WOW and the specific halakhic meqorot on women wearing the tallet gadol.