| Why are some women wearing a tallit? | | | | shall ..." - and mitzvot lo aseh (negative |
| Many people are asking "Tallit for women! Why?" | | | | commandments) - commandments which say "You |
| within the Progressive movement and the | | | | shall not ..." Originally it was believed that all Jews |
| Conservative movement today. In one sense this is a | | | | were obligated to carry out all of the |
| straightforward question about women's tallit; in | | | | commandments. |
| another sense it is extremely complex. | | | | However, by the time of the Mishnah, a tradition was |
| People ask "why?" for many different reasons: simply | | | | developing which sought to limit the obligations of |
| because they are curious; because they are | | | | women regarding the mitzvot. In the Talmud, |
| bewildered; because they are astonished; because | | | | tractate Kiddushin (29a) we read: |
| they are bemused; because they are angry ... This | | | | "All positive mitzvot which are timebound (that is, |
| article attempts in some small way to respond to all | | | | which need to be performed within certain time |
| these "why's" - and the individual men and women | | | | boundaries, whether of a day, a week or a season), |
| asking them - by presenting the personal accounts of | | | | men are obligated with regard to them but women |
| some of the different women who are now wearing | | | | are exempt. However, all positive commandments |
| a tallit. | | | | which are not timebound, both men and women are |
| The question "what does tradition have to say?" is | | | | obligated to fulfil them. All negative mitzvot, |
| both more and less complicated than the question | | | | whether or not timebound, both men and women |
| "why?" Less complicated, because it addresses the | | | | are obligated to fulfil them." |
| issue of the halachah governing the performance of | | | | This is then debated by the rabbis (Kiddushin 34a): |
| Jewish ritual; more complicated, because for the | | | | "Our rabbis taught: which are the mitzvot which are |
| ‘Progressive and Conservative' Jews, the | | | | positive and limited by time? Sukkah and lulav |
| received halachah is not the only guideline for working | | | | (dwelling in a sukkah and shaking the lulav), hearing |
| out our contemporary Jewish practice. | | | | the shofar, and (wearing) tzitzit and tefillin ... But is |
| By documenting the ‘sources', this article | | | | this a kelal (general principle)? (Eating) matzah, |
| ‘answers' the questions of what ‘tradition' | | | | rejoicing (on the festivals) and assembling (for the |
| has to say about women's Tallit. But how do | | | | Shalosh Regalim) are positive, timebound mitzvot and |
| Progressive and Conservative Jews respond to that | | | | women are obligated in them. Furthermore, study |
| tradition? Clearly, by taking the step of wearing a | | | | of Torah, procreation and the redemption of the |
| tallit for morning prayer on a regular basis, women | | | | first-born are not positive, timebound mitzvot but |
| are directly confronting the issue of the performance | | | | women are exempt from them ..." |
| of mitzvot on the part of Progressive Jews. | | | | The rabbis were clearly aware of the contradictions |
| Women and the mitzva of wearing Tallit | | | | in their case although they eventually arrived at a |
| By tradition there are 613 mitzvot in the Torah, and | | | | means of maintaining their general principle (that is, |
| these have been enumerated and elucidated by the | | | | that women are exempt from all timebound, positive |
| rabbis of the Mishnah, Talmud and Codes. The 613 | | | | mitzvot). Despite the exceptions to this rule, it is |
| have been divided into mitzvot aseh (positive | | | | obvious that the position of women in ritual was |
| commandments) - commandments which say "You | | | | initially a fluid one. |