[HANASHIR:8238] Some more Kol Isha clarification

[Rachel Gurevitz <gurevitzr...>]

 I felt like adding a couple more comments, and clarifying a couple of 
misconceptions about Kol Isha that I read in yesterday's postings.

Unfortunately, I'm not able to get my hands on the original sources right now, 
but I did look up the Shulchan Aruch and found a couple of references on the 
web that suggest that the original texts on this matter are concerned about 
something very specific that hasn't been mentioned here yet.  The Talmud, and 
later the actual codes of law, seem to be particularly concerned about things 
that might contravene the laws of Niddah (ritual impurity around the time of 
menstruation).  Just to give you another quick e.g. of the extremes that this 
will be taken to, in Pirke de Rabbi Natan there is a whole midrash on why Moses 
adds to God's instructions, adding an extra day of preparation and telling the 
'people' to 'go not near a woman' before receiving the 10 commandments (this 
past Shabbat's parsha - Yitro).  According to the midrash, this is to avoid any 
possibility of anyone being ritually impure when they receive the law.  R. 
Natan goes as far as to tell a story of a wonderful teacher, practicing Jew who 
died at a young age.  His wife is distraught and none of his students can give 
her an adequate explanation.  Eventually Elijah shows us (as he does) and 
explains that once the husband did not wait the require number of days after 
his wife's period was finished before sharing the same bed with her again, and 
this provides the explanation!

Now, I know that many of us on this list will find this kind of theology 
abhorrent - I certainly do, and feel no need to observe it in any way.  
*However*, it would appear that the Mishna Brurah (a commentary on the Shulchan 
Aruch) explains that the halacha on Kol Isha is *not* to do with the fact that 
men shouldn't be aroused by women, or that women shouldn't be heard, per se, 
but that, *if* a man who hears the beautiful voice of a woman (which implicitly 
recognises the beauty of women's voices) and *if* it arouses him, he may be 
tempted to approach her, flirt with her, and who knows where that might lead... 
etc,  AND *if* she was in niddah at the time, then the man would be in danger 
of contravening more central halachah that could have severe consequences for 
his life.  So it seems to be a case of putting an extra stringent and somewhat 
ridiculous legal fence around a more important halachah.

Now fast-forwarded into 2001, it is very possible that many people who will 
quote 'Kol Isha' to you to explain why you can't do something will have no idea 
of the reasons, making it even more frustrating.  Also, in a modern Orthodox 
minyan in Jerusalem that meets once a month, they have a mechitzah down the 
middle of the room, but women carry the Torah on their side and, what's more, 
women layn from the Torah there!  I really want to find out how the Rabbis 
there have managed to find a 'halachic' way to do that, but it is fantastic 
(especially as the women know this incredible Torah trope that is stunningly 
beautiful and which I've never heard anywhere else).

Well, anyway, here endeth the lesson.  Personally, I find that when matters 
such as these come up, I simply have to acknowledge a very different system of 
doing Judaism to the Orthodox world and have to decide case by case whether I 
can interact and participate in something that jars with my Judaism.

Rachel Gurevitz


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