'Sephardic' Halakhah The Attitude of Sephardic Decisors To Women's Torah Study A Test Case - Ilan H. Fuchs

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com/abstract=1530060

Bar-Ilan University Public Law and Legal Theory
Working Paper No. 02-10

'Sephardic' Halakhah?
The Attitude of Sephardic Decisors to Womens
Torah Study: A Test Case

Ilan H. Fuchs
Tulane University, Jewish Studies Program

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15
SEPHARDIC HALAKHAH?
THE ATTITUDE OF SEPHARDIC
DECISORS TO WOMENS
TORAH STUDY: A TEST CASE

by

ILAN FUCHS
*

A. Introduction

This paper examines Sephardic rabbinic attitudes to womens religious
and more specifically, advanced Talmud study. I draw on halakhic texts w
the second half of the 20th century by leading Sephardic rabbis that immigrat
Israel. I first examine the terms Mizraxi and Sephardic and explain o
grounds I find reason to compare the rabbis discussed. I argue that the
monolithic Sephardic halakhic tradition and that the rabbis discussed h
diverse communities that experienced and reacted to western and
influences in unique ways. I then describe how these rabbis reacted to ch
womens religious and secular education, changes they were forced to con
their communities were exposed to changing values and soc
studies,
ritten in
ed to
n what
re is no
ail from
secular
anges in
front as
ial realities. Examining
c rabbis have responded to the challenge of womens Torah study
ws us to test the claim that the Sephardic halakhic tradition is more flexible and
tolerant of change than the Ashkenazi orthodox halakhic tradition.

*
Schusterman Visiting Israeli Professor, Tulane University. I would like to thank Professor
Kimmy Kaplan, Dr. Amichai Radzyner, Sarah Fuchs and Sherwood Kerker for their comments.
how Sephardi
allo

B. The Terms Mizraxi and Sephardic
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Fuchs: Sephardic Halakhah?
The definitions of the terms Mizraxi and Sephardic have inspired
scholarly debate.
much
ed from
dle
cribe all
es, the
rom the
escent.
Jewish
y used
eably, suggesting these Jews form a monolithic religious and cultural
which
being a
terms?
gained
unities
these
social
hnically
ess of
cultural
their
ere are
at there
should
acterize
Ashkenazi communities as such.
5
On the other hand, after the mass immigration of
ese communities to Israel there is some justification for using the terms Mizraxi

mim 1
s (Heb.),
umstances
4
Y. Shenhav, Jews from Arab Lands in Israel: An Ethnic Community in the Realms of National
Memory (Heb.), in H. Hever, Y. Shenhav and P. Motzafi-Haller (eds.), Mizrahim In Israel: A Critical
Investigation of Israels Ethnicity (Heb.; Jerusalem, 2002), 105-151.
5
B. Brown, The Spectrum of Orthodox Responses: Ashkenazim and Sepharadim (Heb.), in A.
Ravitzky (ed.), Shas: Cultural and Ideological Aspects (Heb.; Tel-Aviv, 2006), 41-122.
1
The term Sephardic originally referred to Jews expell
Spain and Portugal at the end of the 15th century. Settling largely in the Mid
East and North Africa, the term Sephardic came into common usage to des
Jews in these lands, regardless of their ethnic origins. In more recent tim
term Mizraxi has been used to more accurately describe Jews who hail f
Middle East and North Africa but who are not of Spanish or Portuguese d
Yet despite semantic attempts to distinguish differences among this large
population, the terms Sephardic and Mizraxi are still commonl
interchang
entity with little regard for the traditions unique to the communities from
they hailed.
2

Why then are Sephardic and Mizraxi Jewry perceived by so many as
monolithic entity? What unifies the many communities included in these
Perhaps the answer is rooted in the events that occurred after Israel
statehood in 1948, when Middle Eastern and North African Jewish comm
immigrated en masse to Israel, thus signifying the relative end of
communities in the greater Islamic world.
3
Their arrival was marked by
tension, and they were immediately identified as Sephardic and an et
separate community of low socio-economic status. In this proc
stigmatization, their new countrymen in Israel ignored the multi-faceted
identities which they had built (for centuries) and brought with them from
far-flung communities in the Middle East and North Africa.
4
Indeed th
many common characteristics to Mizraxi communities in the same way th
are many common characteristics to Ashkenazi communities; we
characterize Mizraxi communities as monolithic only as much as we char
th
or Sephardic to generally describe the Sephardic melting pot that resulted 1) from

1
S. Shaked, Eastern Jewrys Legacy Its Research Trends and Problems (Heb.), Pea
(1979), 7-14.
2
C. H. Ben-Sasson, Eastern Jewrys Legacy The Matter, its Problems and Possibilitie
Peamim 1 (1979), 86.
3
E. Meir-Glitchenstein, The Enigma of the Great Immigration from Iraq Causes, Circ
and Results (Heb.), Peamim 71 (1997), 25-54.

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Jewish Law Association Studies XX: The Manchester Conference Volume

Rabbi Ovadiah Yosefs attempts to create a monolithic halakhic model of
Ashkenazi communities,

all non-
ments perception that
Ovadiah
protect
halakhic
ions on a
ological level, though they argue these objections were held by a minority that
.
7

teristics
ties. He
ptive to
phardic
egan to
al arena,
aningful
inority
.
9
Many
seemed
to be shifting its loyalty to the anti-Zionist Ashkenazi Orthodox court,
10
bringing
the Sephardic public along with it. As interest in Shass cultural roots developed,
nstituents Mizraxi
x 20 (2008),
hought of
b.; Tel-Aviv, 2001). For a critique of this approach see Brown
ination
allenge of
Baum-Bannai, The Rise and Solidification of Shas
(Heb.; Ph.D. thesis, Tel-Aviv University, 2004).
10
Zohar (supra n. 8), ch. 15; A. Chaim, The Sephardi and the Institutions of the Yishuv 1920-
1925 (Heb.), Peamim 21 (1985), 83-112; Z. Zohar, Sephardic Halakhic Tradition on Galut and
Political Zionism, in N. Stillman and Y. K. Stillman (eds.), From Iberia to Diaspora: Studies in
Sephardic History and Culture (Brill, 1999), 223-234.
6
and 2) from the Israeli establish
non-Ashkenazi immigrants belong to another, single ethnic group.
Benny Lau and others report that there was some opposition to Rabbi
Yosefs ideas. Lau describes the objections of several rabbis who wished to
their communities traditions from Rabbi Ovadiah Yosefs incompatible
approaches. Lau and Nissim Leon report objections to Rabbi Yosefs act
soci
lacked the power to act on them

C. Is there Sephardic Halakhah?

Zvi Zohar describes a Sephardic halakhic corpus with unique charac
that distinguish it from the halakhic traditions of Ashkenazi communi
specifically emphasizes that the Sephardic halakhic tradition is more rece
modernity and its challenges to tradition.
8
The tendency to portray the Se
ethos as tolerant and receptive to change was reinforced as researchers b
examine the Shas movement and its influences. Shass power in the politic
its fierce criticism of the Israeli establishment, and the creation of a me
political force that grew beyond the traditional limits of influence of m
groups in Israeli society until then led to great interest in the movement
perceived the Shas movement as a threat to the Zionist establishment as it
so too did interest in and research on the movements main co

6
B. Lau, To Return the Crown to its Old Glory (Heb.), Akdamot 8 (2000), 9-23.
7
N. Leon, Changes in the Communal Synagogue in Mizra i Jewry (Heb.), Akdamot
89-107.
8
Z. Zohar, The Luminous Face of the East Studies in the Legal and Religious T
Sephardic Rabbis of the Middle East (He
(supra n. 5), 74-84; idem, Mizraxi Rabbis and Religious Fundamentalism: Points for Re-Exam
(Heb.), Akdamot 10 (2001), 289-324.
9
For basic anthologies about Shas see Ravitsky (supra n. 5); Y. Peled, Shas: The Ch
Israeliness (Heb.; Tel-Aviv, 2001). See also R.
Jewry. Of particular interest to researchers was Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, one of the
.
12
One
him as
on, but
har, the
ples of
em by
identity
leaders
gree of
in this
Egypt,
Rabbis
Abdullah Somekl and Yosef Chaim (known as the Ben Ish - ai) from Iraq,
Egyptian decisors and others.
15
Zohar does not limit his definition to geographic
raphy see
hought of
i Ovadiah
nscholarly
, 2004).
; idem, I
.), On the
e of Israel
Citizens in the Writings of Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef (Heb.), in Ravitsky (supra n. 5), 284-327;
n I. Sivan
, 11-
55 (2005),
tions. It is
ury as the
pra n. 8),
.), in Peled (supra n. 9), 110-159. For the
rld rather
o, Saving Moroccan Jewry for Torah:
, 112-129;
Twentieth
Z. Zohar, Tradition and Change: Halakhic Responses of Egyptian and Syrian Rabbis to Legal
and Technological Change, 1880-1920 (Heb.; Jerusalem, 1993), ch. 3.
15
For another example of this Mizraxi-centric attitude see Z. Zohar, David Hartman, Maimonides
and Sephardic-Mizraxi Rabbis in Modern Times: Comparative Analysis, in A. Sagi et al. (eds.),
Renewing Jewish Commitment: The Work and Thought of David Hartman, 2 (Heb.; Jerusalem, 2002),
607-627.
leading figures in the movements religious and cultural spheres.
11

Numerous articles examine Rabbi Ovadiah Yosefs halakhic perceptions
of the major trends in the research of his halakhic philosophy is to portray
someone who is not genuinely rooted in the Sephardic halakhic traditi
rather as someone who operates in an Ashkenazi Orthodox style.
13
Zvi Zo
main proponent of this claim, supports his argument by providing exam
Mizraxi communities traditional openness to the changes forced upon th
modernity. For example, he describes how Egyptian Jewrys religious
became unstable (in part) because the communitys religious
acknowledged the limits of halakhahs authority and granted a great de
legitimacy to the secular Egyptian regime.
14
Zohar cites further examples
vein and attempts to describe the halakhic systems that developed in Iraq,
and Syria as a unified Sephardic halakhic tradition with decisors such as

11
To date there is no scholarly biography of Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef. For a preliminary biog
B. Lau, To Return the Crown to its Former Splendor An Examination of the Halakhic T
Rav Ovadiah Yosef (Heb.; Ph.D. thesis, Bar-Ilan University, 2002), 19-78; A. Picard, Rabb
Yosefs Halakhic Response to Contemporary Realities (Ramat-Gan, 2007). For a no
biography see N. Chen and A. Feffer, Maran: Ovadiah Yosef, The Biography (Heb.; Jerusalem
12
B. Lau, Maintaining the Communities Customs (Heb.), Akdamot 10 (2001), 267 - 288
Will Keep my Stand to Return the Crown to Its Former Glory (Heb.), in M. Bar-On (ed
Challenge of Soverenity (Heb.; Jerusalem, 1999), 214-277; idem, The Attitude to the Stat
and its
idem, Changes in the World of Sephardic Halakhah: From Tradition to Literature (Heb.), i
and K. Caplan (eds.), Israeli Haredim: Integration without Assimilation? (Heb.; Jerusalem, 2003)
31; B. idem, The Place of Kabbalah in the Writings of Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef (Heb.), Daat
131-152.
13
Zohar calls this a model of reform restoration that has significant eschatological founda
the outcome of narratives that saw the halakhic literature from Safed during the 16th cent
original Sephardic prototype that was losing ground to Ashkenazic imperialism; see Zohar (su
312-353; Z. Zohar, Return the Crown to its Old Glory (Heb
claim that the Sephardic Haredi population is an artificial copy of the Ashkenazi Haredi wo
then a continuation of the original Sephardic world see Y. Lop
Taking Moroccan Students to Lithuanian Yeshivot After the Holocaust, Peamim 80 (1999)
Y. Lopo, The Lithuanian Influence On the Torah World in Morocco in the Beginning of the
Century until the Rise of Shas, Kivunim -Hadashim 2 (2000), 61-74.
14


and chronological boundaries, and it seems his main

goal is to compare these
be these
cludes,
are not
borders,
o distinguish between European/American Jewry and the rest
d Jewry.

zzai on
at there
rabbinic
life in a
limited
en were
erly fill
changes
cated in
assimilation. In time,
en with great struggle against the rabbinic establishment, communal fear of
odern and the secular ultimately helped these women gain access to the

the 19th
In Ruth Roders examination of the role of women in the Codes of -adith,
ral codes, which are roughly equivalent to the Jewish traditions
ran and
16
M. Sot. 3:4; Sot. 21b.
17
Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Talmud Torah 1:13; Shulxan Arukh, YD 246:6. Maimonides
distinguishes between the written Torah, which should not be studied, but if it is studied this is not a
transgression, and oral Torah, which should not be studied by women in any case. This opinion was
accepted by the Shulxan Arukh.
decisors to Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef and his halakhic philosophy.
In conclusion, I argue that Mizraxi is the best term to be used to descri
North African and Middle Eastern communities, not for what the term in
but rather for what it excludes, namely, Jewish communities that
Ashkenazi. The term Mizraxi should not be limited to tight geographical
should be used t but
of worl

D. Can Women Learn Torah? An Halakhic Overview

The Mishnah records a disagreement between Rabbi Eliezer and Ben A
the question of womens Torah study. The Talmud in Sot. 21a concludes th
is a general prohibition barring women from Torah study,
16
though later
rulings permitted women to study the basic rules needed to conduct daily
society governed by halakhah. This traditional interpretation significantly
Jewish womens access to religious learning. Without schooling, wom
taught only enough about their faith and practice to enable them to prop
their roles as wives or mothers.
17
However, as western values and social
began to penetrate traditional Jewish communities, Jewish women, unedu
their own religious identity, were especially vulnerable to
and oft
the m
Torah study that would bolster their identity as Jewish women.

1. Womens Education in Mizraxi Communities in the Second Half of
Century

(Islamic laws cent
Oral Torah), she finds that Moslem women were allowed to learn the Ko

Islamic law (known as sharia). These codes refer to women informed ab
customs and the rulings of Mohammed, the founder of Islam.
out the
escribes
to such
the 19th
a basic
ed their
limited
before
ation is
ities in
ditional
om the
on was
ened in
ty for
girls to receive at least a rudimentary education, reports from 1883 and 1884 still
show that a third of the children in the Alexandrian Jewish community did not
oder, Women Transferring Information Educated Women and Scholars in Islamic
th Century
der in the
Empire in
, 167-
mmunities
3.
ducational
ar-Kalifa,
y to
d, 1896-1951 (Heb.),
Peamim 82 (2000), 99-116; R. Simon, Education in the Jewish Community of Bagdad Until 1914
(Heb.), Peamim 36 (1988), 52-63; Y. Meir, The Development of Education Among Iraqi Jews, 1830-
1974 Heb.in M. Zohari et al. (eds.), Jewish Thought in Moslem Countries (Jerusalem, 1982), 428-447;
Y. Yiftach, Jewish Education in Iraq in the Last Generations, 2d edition (Heb., Nahalal, 1984).
25
B. Yehoshua, Jewish Education in Afghanistan (Heb.), Peamim 9 (1981), 72-74.
18
Roder d
female teachers and noted scholars,
19
though in the 17th century reference
women in Islamic texts ceases.
20
E. Greenberg found that until the end of
century wealthy women were educated in their homes, and others received
education at local religious institutions. After missionary schools open
doors to Muslim girls, Muslim communities started to open their own schools.
Later, before World War I, private schools opened and universities gave
access to women.
21

While we know religious education among Mizraxi Jewry existed even
the communities sensed the threat of assimilation, research on this educ
limited in its scope.
22
For example, research on the Jewish commun
Morocco,
23
Baghdad
24
and Afghanistan
25
describes underdeveloped tra
educational systems: institutions lacked infrastructure, teachers came fr
lowest rungs on the socioeconomic ladder, and the quality of educati
extremely low. In the 19th century, several modern vocational schools op
Cairo and Alexandria. While these schools offered, in theory, the opportuni

18
R. R
History (Heb.), Peamim 82 (2000), 4-10.
19
Ibid., 11-13.
20
Ibid., 14.
21
E. Greenberg, Education of Women Between Cairo and Istanbul at the End of the 19
and the Beginning of the 20th Century (Heb.), in R. Roded et al. (eds.), Women and Gen
Middle East in the Twentieth Century (Jerusalem, 2009).
22
Y. Geller, The Economic Basis of the Yeshivot and Talmudei Torah in the Ottoman
the 16th Century and the First Half of the 17th Century, Heb. From East and Maghreb 1 (1974)
221. S. Assaf brings evidence for the existence of many educational institutions in Jewish co
in the Islamic world between the 16th and 18th centuries; see S. Assaf, Sources for the History of
Education in Jewish Communities, vol. 2 (Heb.; repr. Jerusalem and New-York, 2001), 425-59
23
Y. Dadon, Ohalei Yosef Yizxak and Beit Rivkah: The Activity of the Habad E
Network in Morocco, 1949-1965 (Heb.), M.A. thesis (Ramat-Gan, 2003), 1-4; E. Ralimian B
The Jewish Community of Southern Morocco The Sus Area From the End of the 19th Centur
the Mid-20th Century (Heb.), M.A.thesis (Ramat-Gan, 2003), 71-77.
24
N. Gabai, The Education of Girls in the Jewish Community of Bagda


receive regular schooling.

century,
er than
t can be
0%, and
n
29
and
ally
rast to the generally dismal level of education among Sephardic women.

bring
ast and
blished.
ges that
Jewish
navigate
the prayer book until Alliance opened its doors. While the organization introduced
secular education for boys and girls
33
and promoted womens religious education,
binic establishment was most distressed by Alliances declared intention to
or examples of the changes that modernity brought to womens education see N.
The Position of Rabbi Shlomo Malka on the Status of Women
E. Bashan, From the East (Heb.; Lod, 1996), 147-156; E. Touitou, Jewish Education in
26
Finally, at the beginning of the 20th
statistical data from Egypt shows that the rate of Jewish illiteracy was low
that of other segments of the Egyptian population. However, this statemen
misleading, as literacy among Jewish men was still a little more than 5
among women only around 30%.
27
Although Nili Gabai,
28
Eliezer Basha
others
30
identify several examples of learned Sephardic women especi
31
these examples are all exceptional and stand in stark notable is Osnat Mizrachi
cont

2. The Alliance Education System

With the formation of Alliance, a French-Jewish organization designed to
western values and French culture to Jewish communities in the Middle E
North Africa, a major network of educational institutions was finally esta
These institutions played a critical role in the educational and social chan
occurred in Sephardic communities in the 19th century.
32
In Morocco,
women received virtually no religious education, and few women could
the rab

26
Ibid., 78-80. F
n, Conservatism and Revolutionism Ila
in the Jewish Society of Sudan (Heb.), Peamim 91 (2002), 123-151.
27
Y. Landau, The Jews of Egypt in the 19th Century (Heb.; Jerusalem, 1967), 76-77.
28
Supra n. 24, at 98.
29
Morocco in the 18th Century (Heb.), Shinuyim Be--

Century
1993),
evine-Melammed, Rabbanit Osnat A Rosh Yeshiva in Kurdistan
Heb.in S.
iance in Mediterranean Communities at the End of the 19
th
Century and its
Influence in the Social and Cultural Situation (Jerusalem, The Institute for the Research of Sephardic
and Mizrachi Jewry, 1987), 7-14.
33
M. Levy, The Status of Jewish Women in Morocco, 1860-1965, (Heb.), M.A. Thesis (Ramat-
Gan, 2003), 131-142; M. Lasker, Jewish Education in Morocco (Heb.), Peamim 9 (1981), 78-99;
Bar-Kalifa (supra n. 23), 78.
inukh 33 (1982), 137-148.
30
Ibid, 238-240; Y. Shitrit, Frecha bat Yosef A Hebrew Poet in Morocco in the 18th
(Heb.), Peamim 4 (1980), 84-93; Y. Shitrit, Frecha bat Rabbi Avraham (Heb.), Peamim 55 (
124-130.
31
O. Melamed and R. L
(Heb.), Peamim 82 (2000), 163-178.
32
G. Weill, Alliance in Mediterranean Communities at the End of the 19th Century,
Schwarzfuchs (ed.), All
change Jewish womens status, modernize Sephardic communities,
34
an
the withered values of the Middle East and North Africa.
d break
blished
y the rabbinic establishment as
abbinic
women
hristian
oping a
successful school system throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Similar
successes resulted in Egypt,
39
Iran,
40
Turkey,
41
Tunisia,
42
Algeria
43
and in
0-1920, 2
Influence of Alliance on Jewish Communities in Moslem
istics as a Missionary Movement, Heb. in Schwarzfuchs (supra n. 32), 31-
cuments,
e Jews in
, 1986), 261-263; E. Abarbiya, Community Culture and Nascent
9 (Heb.),
2-124. For
ent to establishing a modern school in Istanbul in 1858 see
it, The Struggle for the Emancipation of the Jewish Woman in Marrakesh Changes
T. Cohen et al. (eds.), A Woman in the East, A Woman from the East
amat-Gan,
mim 22
9 (1981),
Alliance Israelite Universelle and the Politics of
hought in
rception of
Jewish women from Tunisia see E. Shelly-Newman, School as a Landmark in the Life of Elderly
Women from Tunisia, Heb. in Cohen (supra n. 37), 233-248.
43
Y. Sharvit, Jewish Education in Constantine (Algeria) During a Period of Change, 1837-1939
(Heb.), Asufut 14 (2002), 315-356. He claims that there was no tension between the rabbinic
establishment and Alliance, although Alliance did lead to changes in the system of religious education.
35
Schools esta
in the 1860s in Greece and Turkey, viewed b
unwelcome agents of change, were likewise scorned.
36

In other communities, Alliance was ultimately accepted by the r
establishment,
37
which recognized that illiterate and uneducated Jewish
were too often tempted by the promise of education offered by local C
missions.
38
Despite rabbinic opposition, Alliance succeeded in devel

34
A. Rodrigue, Education, Society, and History Alliance and Mediterranean Jews, 186
(Jerusalem, 1991), 87-93; Z. Zohar, On the
Countries and its Character
35; M. Laskier, The Jews of Morocco and the Alliance Israelite Universelle: Selected Do
Eng. From East and Maghreb 3 (1981), VII-XXIV.
35
Dadon (supra n. 23), 6-7.
36
Y. Barnay, Jews in the Ottoman Empire, Heb.in S. Ettinger (ed.), The History Of th
Moslem Countries (Jerusalem
Feminism The Community of Izmir on the Eve of the Young Turks Revolution, 1899-190
M.A thesis (Ramat-Gan, 2002), 50-60. For changes in the perception of women see ibid., 11
the objections of the rabbinic establishm
Assaf (supra n. 22), 522-524.
37
E. Shitr
Between 1901-1939, Heb. in
(Ramat-Gan, 2005), 146-149.
38
E. Bashan, The Jews in Morocco in the 19th Century and the English Mission (Heb.; R
1999), 49-50, 238.
39
Landau (supra n. 27), 91-98.
40
A. Cohen, The Jews of Iran and the Educational Enterprise of Alliance (Heb.), Pea
(1985), 93-128; idem, The Attitude of Iranian Jews to Modern Education (Heb.), Peamim
43-58; idem, Maktab The Persian -eder (Heb.), Peamim 14 (1982), 57-76.
41
A. Rodrigue, French Jews, Turkish Jews The
Jewish Schooling in Turkey, 1860-1925 (Eng.; Bloomington, 1990).
42
O. Cohen, Jewish Education in Tunisia, Heb.in M. Zohari et al. (eds.), Jewish T
Moslem Countries (Jerusalem, 1982), 367-393. For the importance of education in the pe


Libya, where the Allianc

e schools were a main factor in changing the
ery late
escribes
layed a
ll, these
in the
eligious
young Jewish women only came to fruition after the Chabad-Lubavitch
udied in
tudy of
, young
n.
49

and the
liances
rization
education in
Yemenite communities where there were no Alliance activities to communities
ere such schools did open. The limited research available shows that the
51

nal Aspects of Libyas Jewish Community Between the Second
nd the Beginning of the 20th Century (1835-1911) (Heb.), M.A. thesis
ens education see at 66-71.
m Habanim and Otzar Ha-Torah and Jewish Education in Morocco, 1860-
aifa, 1989), 28-30.
he Jewish Community of Syria, 1840-1880
ommunity
from the Mid-Eighteenth Century to the Damascus Blood Libel (Heb.), M.A thesis (Ramat-
to the end
tury to the
-32; Harel
(ibid.), 87-96.
51
Y. Shaar, Jewish Education in Yemen, in M. Zahari et al (eds.), Heb. Jewish Thought in
Islamic Countries (Jerusalem, 1982), 417-427; A. Ben-David, Jewish Education in Northern Yemen and
its Roots in Judaism, (Heb.; place of publcation not mentioned, Self Published, 1984); A. Ben-David,
Education as a Mirror Jewish Education in Yemen as a Mirror Image of Education in Talmudic
communities attitude to the status of women.
44

The rabbinic establishment in these communities reacted only at a v
stage by creating religious educational institutions. Orly Zaguri Ochanah d
the various forms of these institutions in Morocco and notes that women p
very important role in the communal support for these institutions.
45
Sti
institutions were targeting male students, and the female students remained
Alliance schools.
46
(The organized and wide-reaching effort to create r
schools for
movement established its own educational institutions for girls
47
after the Second
World War).
48

In Syria we find a similar phenomenon. Until the 19th century, boys st
the traditional kitab, and after reaching bar mitzvah continued their s
Talmud and halakhah in the madras. When Alliance entered the scene
women were finally allowed to attain some level of formal educatio
Eventually, however, tension broke out between the French Alliance
communities traditional rabbinic leadership, as the latter feared that Al
disrespect for the principles of religious leadership would encourage secula
among its students.
50
It is interesting to compare the situation of
wh
difference in womens education in such communities was very significant.

44
O. Dadoush, Social and Educatio
Half of the 19th Century a
amat-Gan, 2006), 50-66; on the changes in wom (R
45
O. Zagory Ochana, E
960 (Heb.), M.A thesis (H 1
46
Landau (supra n. 27), 41.
47
Dadon (supra n. 23).
48
Zagory (supra n. 45), 57.
49
Zohar (supra n. 14) 49-60; Y, Harel, Changes in t
(Heb.), Ph.D. thesis (Ramat-Gan, 1992), 84-98; S. Sonnenschein, Daily Life in the Jewish C
of Aleppo
Gan, 1983), 91-93. For an overview of educational institutions in Syria from the 19th century
of the 20th century see Z. Zohar, Education of Jews in Syria from the Mid-Nineteenth Cen
Beginning of the 21st Century (Heb.), Peamim 109 (2007), 5-32.
50
Z. Zohar, A Social-Cultural Drama in Mandate Aleppo (Heb.; Jerusalem, 2003), 19
However, the criteria for success might be relative. Statistical data gath
Iraqi Jews indicates that the rate of illiteracy among women emigrating fr
to Israel was very high. According to data from the 1961 Israeli census con
those who emigrated from Iraq a decade earlier, there were major differe
literacy between men and women and also among individuals who haile
different parts of Iraq. From this data we can understand that the rate of illiteracy
among women was double that of men.
ered on
om Iraq
cerning
nces in
d from
.2% of
2 had received no formal education and 22%
ment in
le East
ucation.
a broad
tatistical
formal
nce as a
Jewish
promote
s educational institutions of their own, rabbinic leaders failed
ven to initiate dialogue or formulate an official response to the halakhic question
f womens Torah study the very issue that prevented them designing their own
religious school system.

948 (Heb.;
usalem, Self Published, 1990), 1. He also describes an attempt to establish an Alliance school ibid,
at refrained from teaching religious
eadership
omoted
Jews, suggested reforms in the education of children; see Assaf (supra n. 22), 513-
52
T. Darvish, Iraqi Jews in the Economy (Heb.; Ramat-Gan, 1987), 24.
53
E. Krausz and Y. Don, The Rate of Education of Iraqi Jews and a Comparison to that of
Romanina Jews, Iraqi Jews in Israel (Ramat-Gan, 1991), 58.
54
Ibid., 62.
52
Other research claims that 59
women immigrating during 1949-195
had only between 5-8 years of schooling.
53
There was, however, improve
these rates after the Second World War.
54

To summarize, the entrance of Alliance and other schools to the Midd
and North Africa led to dramatic improvements in the field of womens ed
That said, while these improvements transformed womens education on
scale, the education they received was still relatively rudimentary, and s
data indicates that a very high percentage of women did not receive any
schooling at all. In some places the rabbinic establishment perceived Allia
great threat to the traditional fabric of their communities and feared that the
education it offered regardless of how rudimentary it might be would
secularism and disrespect of Jewish tradition. Yet instead of countering Alliance
schools with women
e
o

_____

Times (Heb.; Netanya, 1995). Y. Tzurieli, Changes in Jewish Education in Yemen, 1902-1
Jer
pp. 5-7. An attempt was also made to establish a girls school th
studies, but it closed after a short period of time, due to objections voiced by the rabbinic l
(ibid., 20-24). Rabbi Yichya Kapach, the founder of the Dar-da-yi movement in Yemen that pr
secular education for
514.


Halakhic Sources and Decisors
Jewish
hat deal
tify any
ury
an 18th
h study.
- ai),
ue by
ation to
d them
shared
e local
phardic
n in Israel reflects individual communities newfound
mmonalities as they came into contact with influences that threatened to disrupt
eir traditional ways of life.
he 17th
n. Meir
orocco
d
sively
he
e of his
n extant
Ibn Mousa addresses the question of womens Torah study twice, once during a
scussion
about
terpretation of the Mishna is problematic.

55
M. Benayahu, The History of Rabbi Avraham ibn Mousa and his Son Rabbi Moshe Ibn Mousa
and their Spiritual Legacy (Heb.), Michael 5 (1978), 9-133. Ibn Mousa was apparently born in 1660,
and he died on March 8, 1733, according to his tombstone.
56
A. ibn Mousa, Minxat Sotah (Jerusalem, 1999).
E.

Prior to the mass immigration of Middle Eastern and North African
communities to Israel in the 1950s, there are only three known sources t
with the question of womens Torah study, and thus one cannot iden
Sephardic halakhic tradition in this matter. Two of these sources a 17th cent
Tunisian book that touts the qualities of the ideal Jewish woman and
century text from the Ladino-speaking community oppose womens Tora
The third, a 19th century Iraqi text written by Rabbi Yosef Chaim (Ben Ish
sends mixed messages. I will first examine these texts and will then contin
analyzing halakhic sources written by Sephardic rabbis after their immigr
Israel in the 1950s. Comparing the sources and the rabbis that produce
before and after the immigration, I find that the Sephardic communities
immigration experience, including their inhospitable reception by th
Ashkenazi population, served to unite an otherwise diverse group. The Se
halakhic responsa writte
co
th

1. Rabbi Avraham Ibn Mousa

Rabbi Avraham Ibn Mousa, one of North Africas prominent rabbis in t
century, authored a book in which he discusses the ideal Jewish woma
Benayahu
55
reports that Rabbi Avraham Ibn Mousa was born in Tetwan, M
to a family of Spanish descent and later served as a rabbi in the cities of Sali an
Marrakesh, Morocco, finally settling in Tunisia. Ibn Mousa wrote exten
about kabbalah and wrote many books about the Talmud, interpretations on t
Pentateuch, and liturgical poems. Though most of his writings were lost, on
books on tractate Sotah was published according to four of the five know
manuscripts.
56

discussion about the Talmud (Sot. 21a) and the second time during a di
about the liturgical poem Eshet -ayil (Woman of Valor). In the discussion
n Sot. 21a he argues that Maimonides i
According to Maimonides, Rabbi Elazar objects to womens Torah study
they will misinterpret the Torah and will come to see it as idle teaching.
interpretation, which Ibn Mousa finds more accurate, argues that womens
Torah will cause them to be cunning and will give them the knowledge to
forbidden actions. Rashi suggests that this cunningness can be manifest
different ways: either the mind is sharpened, enabling one to reveal the
because
Rashis
study of
conceal
in two
truth, or
ere did
should
udes by
ich can
He
xists in
ing the
cludes by stating that even if a woman is worthy of
and and
of the
of the
Some
tionship
he nation of Israel, but others, such as ibn Mousa, believe it
des Mousa
wri man of
val
e thing,
lso be a
ts both
ind a righteous
something
s, about
oem that
says a woman of valor is beyond pearls and who shall find her?
58

'
' . .

57
Ibid., 170-171.
58
Ibid., 174.
this cunningness can lead one to build castles in the sky. So from wh
Maimonides get his interpretation?
Ibn Mousa interprets Maimonides differently. He argues that a woman
not be taught Torah just as she should not be taught foolishness. He concl
questioning why Maimonides differentiates between the Written Torah, wh
be studied by women de facto, and the Oral Torah, which is always forbidden.
suggests that this may mean that the danger of foolishness only e
womens study of the Oral Torah. In spite of this apparent leniency in study
Written Torah, Ibn Mousa con
some merit for studying Torah, she will gain more by aiding her husb
children in their study of Torah.
57

Following this discussion of Sot. 21a, ibn Mousa offers his interpretation
liturgical poem Eshet -ayil. This poem, traditionally recited by the man
house before the Shabbat meal, describes the ideal Jewish woman.
commentators suggest Eshet -ayil is a metaphor describing the rela
between G-d and t
cribes the actual characteristics expected of the Jewish woman. Ibn
tes that a woman who studies Torah cannot be an eshet xayil (a wo
or):
It is close to impossible that two opposites should be found in on
that a woman will be wise in the wisdom of the Torah and will a
woman that fears G-d. And I have not found one woman who exhibi
these qualities in all those. And the poem says Who can f
woman? Her value is beyond pearls. That means she has gained
which is beyond pearls, that is, the Torah that was given by Mose
which it is said it is more priceless that pearls. This is like the p


First he
uity. He
(e.g. for
men
ports his
the wise
because
l role as
tinues to
studies
to be a
e she will receive spiritual
nsidered
te in the
sa took
an who
woman
ns lives
ousas text fairly accurately
bes the status of women in his community. Ibn Mousas text is comparable
th Ashkenazic texts of the time period that restrict womens Torah study to the
ts relevant to their traditional gender roles.
62

Meam Loez, conceived of and begun by Rabbi Yaakov Kuli, is a commentary
nach first published in Istanbul in 1730. Written in Ladino because
as not widely understood among Balkan Jewry, Meam Loez was
60
Ibid., 176.
61
Ibid., 177.
62
I. Fuchs, The Role of Women as Functionaries in the Halakhic System: A Historical and Legal
Analysis (Heb.), Ph.D. thesis (Ramat-Gan, 2009), ch. 1.

,
Ibn Mousa then explains what will result from womens Torah study.
says that this is similar to learning idle things, which will lead to promisc
explains at length that someone who studies Torah for the wrong reasons
wealth or respect) will meet a bad end. Yet despite his arguments against wo
studying Torah, he actually believes they should study Torah, and he sup
claim that women should study Torah with the verse from Eshet -ayil that
womans husband lacks nothing. He says that the husband lacks nothing
she studies Torah in addition to, and without compromising, her traditiona
a mother and wife. In this case, she can even study Oral Torah.
59
He con
describe a woman who works during the day as a homemaker and at night
Torah, mainly halakhah, in her spare time.
60
Her husband, who is expected
scholar himself, should learn Torah with her.
61
Whil
rewards for ensuring that her children and husband study Torah, she is co
more meritorious than most women because of her own study.
There seems to be a contradiction between the interpretation of the deba
Talmud and his interpretation of the poem. It is possible that Ibn Mou
poetic license in interpreting Eshet -ayil, or perhaps he referred to a wom
studies alone and therefore can also study the Oral Torah.
This source reflects the gender roles and characterization of the ideal
common in its time. Although we lack significant information about wome
in this time and place, we may assume that Ibn M
descri
wi
same basic tex

2. Meam Loez

on the Ta
Hebrew w

59
Ibid., 175.
widely read and widely impacted daily Jewish life.
63
Meuchas Gineoh arg
even though Meam Loez was not written for women, since it was written in
vernacular
ues that
their
it was widely circulated and highly influential among the female
a later
Torah
tudy not
r study,
d be better able to
r work.
other hand, a woman who does not allow her sons to study Torah or who
riticizes teachers will be punished.
66
There are more examples like this in Ladino
terature.
67

book of
d of
Sephardic halakhah,
68
though few have investigated his kabbalistic or halakhic
ury and
ominent
ife of the
n (supra n.
bout the readership of Ladino literature specifically, whether
e readers. See Y. Ben-Naeh, Review of Matthias B. Lehmann,
ic Culture (Heb.), Zion 74 (2008), 488. He compares
e Ben Ish
alonika, dating from 1550, where the
with their
68
His biography is discussed primarily by traditional sources, e.g., A. Zakkai, The Gaon Rabbi
Yosef Chaim: The Greatest Babylonian Rabbi in the Last Generations (Heb.), Maxberet 10 (1961), 38-
42; also Y. Alfasi, A Light Shines from the East (Heb.; Jerusalem, 1994).
69
A. Ben Yaakov, Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad (Heb.; Jerusalem, 1977); idem, A Collection of
Poems, Books and Sermons by Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Blessed Memory (Heb.; Jerusalem, 1994); S.
population.
64

The section of Meam Loez relevant to our discussion was written by
editor, Rabbi Yitzchak Argoati of Istanbul,
65
and deals with the weekly
reading of Parshat Ekev. Here Argoati defines the womans role in Torah s
as studying for herself, but rather as aiding her father and sons in thei
sacrificing her personal needs so that the men in her family shoul
pursue their religious studies, and encouraging her husband to study afte
Argoati says that in these ways a woman can reach a lofty spiritual level.
On the
c
li

3. Ben Ish Chai

Rabbi Yosef Chaim from Baghdad, known as the Ben Ish Chai after his
sermons, was (and remains) one of the most important figures in the worl
works or his extensive public activity in the second half of the 19th cent
the beginning of the 20th century.
69
Rabbi Yosef Chaim was born to a pr

63
A. Meuchas Gineoh, Ishklavia Di Su Maridu: A Look at the the Day-to-Day L
Sephardic Jewish Woman According to Meam Loez by Rabbi Yaakov Kuli (Heb), in Cohe
37), 25-34.
64
Ibid, 28. Scholars disagree a
omen should be included among th w
Ladino Rabbinic Literature and Ottoman Sephard
the influence of Ladino literature on women to a book written by R. Yosef Chaim (author of th
Chai) that is discussed below.
65
Menuchas Gineoh (supra n. 63), 27.
66
Meam Loez, Devarim, 2 (Jerusalem, 1970), 567.
67
See the quotation from the book Seder Nashim from S
author writes that women do not have a share in studying Torah, since this will interfere
obligations to care for their children (Menuchas Gineoh [supra n. 63], 30).


rabbinic family, and he achieved a position of leadership in the comm
Baghdad. He was a disciple of Rabbi Abdallah Som

unity of
ech, and he remained the most
tes that
rs to all
to his
kenazic
-ayei
the 19th
Jews of
as the
s in the
or these
certain
penness
stem.
75

on from
Rabbi Shimon Agassi, who believed they would cause rampant secularization and
assimilation among Iraqi Jewry. He also criticized what he perceived as the
immodest dress the schools encouraged, as well as the non- and even anti-
.D. thesis,
mons of Rabbi Yosef Chaim (Heb.),
), 35-43; D. Rotman, Niflaim Maasekha by Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad:
and its Historical and Literary Context (Heb.), Peamim 109 (2007), 59-93; L. Jacobs,
erspectives on Jews and
munity of
Bar Aba
eb.; Jerusalem, 1981),
e see S. Regev, The
Attitude Towards Secular Education Among the Jews of Babylon: R. Yosef Chaim and R. Shimon
Agassi (Heb.), in Y. Avishur et al. (eds.), Studies in the History of the Babylonian Jews and Their
Culture: Proceedings of the Second Congress for the Study of Babylonian Jewry (Heb.; Or Yehuda,
2002), 118-97.
75
Imrei Binah, 1 (Jerusalem, 1908), sermon 1; Zohar (supra n.15), 610-612; Regev, ibid.
prominent leader of the Iraqi Jews until he passed away.
70

Shmuel Mondani, one scholar who has studied Rabbi Yosef Chaim, no
he has a very specific way to arrive at halakhic decisions, in which he refe
sources relevant to the topic at hand, even when they are foreign
communitys halakhic tradition.
71
As such, he refers extensively to Ash
sources like Rabbi Moshe Isserles and other contemporary decisors like the
Adam and the Shulxan Arukh Harav, who wrote in the beginning of
century, as well as kabbalistic sources.
72

Rabbi Yosef Chaim led his community at a time of great change for the
Iraq in general, and of Baghdad specifically. One such change w
establishment of the Alliance schools and other modern vocational school
Jewish community.
73
Rabbi Yosef Chaim did not show explicit support f
institutions,
74
although he seems to have agreed to give sermons in
vocational institutions supported by Alliance, perhaps signifying some o
and even support for the changes occurring in the traditional educational sy
On the other hand, the establishment of these schools met fierce oppositi
_____

Mondani, The Halakhic Approach of Rabbi Yosef Chaim in the Ben Ish Chai (Heb.), Ph
Regev, The Moral Literature and Ser (Ramat Gan, 2005); S.
Yahadut Bavel 1 (1996
The Anthology
The Responsa of Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad, in A. A. Chiel (ed.), P
daism: Essays in Honor of Wolfe Kelman (New York, 1978), 189-214. Ju
70
Mondani, ibid., at24.
71
Ibid., 73-74.
72
Ibid., 122-145. On his use of kabbalah in his halakhic writings, see ibid., 200-218.
73
On these schools see supra n. 24.
74
For his activities see E. Agassi, The Beginning of Secularization in the Jewish Com
Baghdad and the Efforts to Control It, Based on the Sermons of Hakham Shimon Aharon Aba
Agassi (Heb.), in M. Zahary et al. (eds.), Jewish Thought in Islamic Countries (H
306-314. For the attitude of Rabbi Yosef Chaim to secular knowledge and Allianc
traditional education the schools provided.
76
Though Rabbi Yosef Chai
Rabbi Agassi were not contemporaries, the obvious dichotomy between th
responses to new educational institut
m and
eir two
ions highlights even more clearly Rabbi
omen).
women
onth
e role a
s that a
ucation
should
to the
hildrens
ture her
etc.
78

study is
of his

piled by
ns since
an who
ible, its
uld not
her had
outlined for her, and as he was not interested in overseeing her studies the tutor
h, Talmud, and its commentaries. Upon
d to his
to Hebrew.
Arabic in hebrew letters in 1906. The Authors name was omitted in
eans law was
2007), 33-
79
Y.Chaim, Niflaim Maasekha, ed. B. M. Hazan (Jerusalem, 1989), 233-239.
80
Y. Chaim, Od Yosef -ai (Jerusalem, 1958), 178-181.
81
R. Kadosh, Between the Ideal of Fearing God and Social Documentation A Study of Niflaim
Maasekha by Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Bagdad (Heb.), M.A. thesis (Ramat-Gan, 1998).
Chaims relatively accommodating position.
In 1906, Rabbi Yosef Chaim published Kanun el-Nasa (Laws of W
Written in Judeo-Arabic, this book deals with halakhic rulings relevant to
and is organized in such a way that women can study the book in six-m
cycles.
77
The book includes a section on girls education and outlines th
mother plays in her childrens education. For example, Rabbi Chaim teache
mother should be mindful of what her children do and eat, their religious ed
(mostly that they say the correct blessings over their food), and that they
not go with other children to bathe in the river or go unsupervised
communal bath-house. Concerning womens education, he wrote that c
most important source of Jewish knowledge is their mother. She should nur
daughters spiritual virtues at a young age and also teach them to sew, knit,
Another interesting source for Rabbi Chaims views on womens Torah
a story about a talmidat xakham (learned woman) he relates in one
sermons,
79
even though the story is unrelated to the sermon itself.
80
Rivka Kadosh
suggests that this story, which appeared in an anthology of his stories com
one of his students after his death, was especially appropriate for his sermo
his audience usually included many women.
81

The story goes like this: Once there was a very wealthy and learned m
hired a tutor for his daughter with instructions that he should teach her B
basic commentaries and Hebrew grammar. He warned that his daughter sho
study Talmud. In six months, the daughter learned all the material her fat
decided to continue with the Mishna
learning this, the father became angry and fired the tutor. He explaine

76
S. Agassi, Zehav Sheva (Jerusalem, 1989), 25-29.
77
. Y. Chaim, Laws of Women, (Heb. Jerusalem, 1979), 2. This edition was translated in
The original book was printed in
this edition and it was printed in Livorno Italy since the Arabic word Kanun that m
reserved only government documents.
78
Ibid, 25-28. A detailed discussion about the status and importance of women among the Jews of
Iraq may be found in: N. Ilan, Kanun al-Nesa (The Law of Women) (Heb.), Peamim 109 (
57.


daughter that Talmud study is for men, and that when she marries she w
have time to study anyway, except perhaps for the weekly Torah
However, the daughter would not give up. She studied independently, hi
studies from her father. One day her father met a man whom he took to be poor
and ignorant in Torah. His daughter, however, questioned him in a knowle
way and found him to be a Torah scholar. The father was shocked
daughters erudition, whereupon she revealed her continued study of the T
and he came to accept her desire to study topics beyond the weekly Torah
Because he included it in his sermons, one may assume that Rabbi
approved of the message it sent

ill not
portion.
ding her
dgeable
by his
almud,
portion.
Chaim
to female congregants, namely, that the study of
l cases,
as asked
h is a kabbalistic text recited at midnight
vuot, a
xi
se texts
to study
ly with
, Tikun
s have
contain
to
se texts
Torah at
on the
used by
other,
s not to be
ed. The custom in our homes is that women start before dawn, but they do
not say Tikun -atzot, and just learn Petixat Eliyahu and other similar texts. My
grandmother of blessed memory used to learn 18 chapters of Mishnah.

82
Rav Pealim, 1 (Jerusalem, 1980), Sod Yesharim section 9.
83
A. Shtal, Ritual Reading of the Zohar (Heb.), Peamim 5 (1980), 77-86. On the development of
Kabbalah in North Africa see M. Idel, The Beginning of Kabbalah in North Africa (Heb.), Peamim
43 (1990), 4-15.
the written Torah and its commentaries is acceptable, and in exceptiona
women may also study Talmud.
A more detailed response was given by Rabbi Yosef Chaim after he w
if women could recite Tikun -atzot, whic
consisting of passages from the written and Oral Torah, and Tikun Leil Sha
similar text recited on the night of Pentecost.
82

While reciting Zoharic texts without understanding them is an accepted Mizra
practice,
83
this source does not reveal whether the women reading the
understood them, although it seems that they were knowledgeable enough
the written Torah and pray daily. Rabbi Chaims answer deals main
womens ability to recite various kabbalistic texts, such as Tikun Leah
Rachel, Tikun Shevii Shel Pesax and Tikun Hoshana Raba. These text
mystical significance and are important for our purposes because they
portions of both the Written and Oral Torah. Rabbi Yosef Chaim objected
womens recitations of Tikun Rachel and Leah because recitation of the
would require women to study the Torah appearing in them, and studying
night corresponds mystically to the undesirable value of judgment. Men
other hand represent mercy, and, unlike women, can ease the judgment aro
reciting the Tikun. As part of this debate Rabbi Chaim mentions his grandm
ho studied 18 chapters of Mishnah every day: But Oral Torah i w
object

,
,

, ,
.
84
as
udying
possible
e is no
erefore
rning other
or men,
so.
udying
mystical
example, discusses Imrei
770 that
of the
to refer
manner.
ng Oral
that
women
mething
clusive
prising,
bbi Eliezer prohibited women to study
Torah was that it will lead to immodest behavior and will allow women to
fornicate easily.
87
On the other hand, we have the story he told in a sermon where
(Heb.; Jerusalem,
85
G. Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, 3d ed. (Eng. New York, 1960), 37.
86
C. Weissler, Woman as High Priest: A Kabbalistic Prayer in Yiddish for Lighting Sabbath
candles, Jewish History 5:1 (1991), 9-26.
87
Y. Chaim, Ben Yehoyada (reprint ed. Jerusalem, 2006) on Sot. 21a.

The sentence: But Oral Torah is not to be objected is unclear. Halakhah,
stated in Maimonides and the Shulxan Arukh, prohibits women from st
Torah, and the study of Oral Torah is even more severely prohibited. It is
to explain these remarks as referring only to kabbalah, meaning that ther
kabbalistic reason to object to women studying Oral Torah at night, and th
women may recite parts of the Oral Torah before dawn. Conce
kabbalistic texts he states that Tikun Leil Shavuot is only relevant f
although Tikun Hoshana Rabbah is different, and women should recite it al
This responsum attests to learned women adopting pious customs and st
Oral Torah. Gershom Scholem writes that women were absent from the
sphere in Judaism,
85
although Chava Weissler, for
Shifrah, a book of womens personal supplications (texinot) published in 1
was written by a woman and contains kabbalistic references.
86

There are more examples, but they all have to do with the periphery
mystical sphere, and what was written by Rabbi Yosef Chaim seems also
to a ritual act and not to an attempt to gain knowledge in a structured
However, it is still surprising to see that he does not object to women reciti
Torah included in kabbalistic texts or 18 chapters of Mishnah daily. The fact
he says that there is no reason to object, based on mystical reasons, to
reading these texts, while completely disregarding halakhic issues is so
that warrants discussion. It seems to me that it is difficult to offer a con
explanation, but his disregard for the issue of womens Torah study is sur
and that feeling is strengthened when we see that in his book about the legends of
the Talmud he writes that the reason Ra
he supported a young woman studying Talmud.

84
The study of 18 chapters of the Mishnah on a daily basis, facilitating completion of the Mishnah
in a month, is mentioned in different kabbalistic books, e.g. Hanhagot Tzadikim
1953), 19.


While these sources may reflect Rabbi Chaims ambiguous position on t
of womens Torah study, it is important to examine how he responded to changes
occurring on the ground in the Jewish community of Baghdad. Altho
supported some of the changes in the field of education, it is hard to
conclusions about his halakhic opinion in this matter. As noted earlier, Ni
described a tradition of some learned Iraqi Jewish women, and perhaps t
tradition caused Rabbi Chaim to be more tolerant of educated women fr
Baghdad Jewish families. Possible support for this argument, according to
is that in only one case was there a positive feminine figure in his storie
possible to argue that since this is just a ritual reciting of texts without nec
understanding them it didnt fall under the category of studying Torah. Ho
dont think that it is a good explanation, since in the story used in his ser
woman described stu

he issue
ugh he
come to
li Gabai
his Iraqi
om elite
Kadosh,
s.
88
It is
essarily
wever, I
mon the
died Talmud in depth. It may suggest that he accepted women
at the reason they study is positive and that they dont
isuse their knowledge.

Non-Haredi Sephardic Rabbis Open to Liberalism and Change
issue of
Mesas.
allenges
deas of
secularism
90
and relationships with non-Jews
91
in a very tolerant way. Serving as
halakhic
oetic and
Maghreb)
(eds.), Hitxadshut U-Masoret (Jerusalem, 2005), 7-9.
adership and Rabbinate of Rabbi Yosef Mesas (Heb.), Massekhet 6
(2007), 171-195; A. Rosenak, The Honor of the Public as a Protective Term in the Writings of Rabbi
Yosef Mesas (Heb.), Akdamot 20 (2008), 55-70; Z. Zohar, Halakhah as a Non-Fundamentalist
Language Rabbi Yosef Mesas and the Butchers of Telemasan (Heb.), Jewish Culture in the Eye of
the Storm (Ein Tzurim, 2002), 569-591.
91
Zohar (supra n. 15), 617-619.
studying after they proved th
m

F.

1. Rabbi Yosef Mesas

The first document dating from the mid-20th century that deals with the
womens Torah study was written by the Moroccan Rabbi Yosef
According to current research, Mesas did not want to clash with the ch
modernity presented to his community,
89
and he responded to the i
a rabbi in Telmasan, Algeria; a dayan (rabbinic judge) in Mekenas, Morocco, and
as Chief Rabbi of Haifa in Israel, Mesas became familiar with the

88
R. Kadosh, The Literary Oeuvre of Rabbi Yosef Chaim in Its Homiletical Context: P
Socio-Ideological Aspects (Heb.), Ph.D. thesis (Ramat-Gan, 2005), 211.
89
M. Bar-Asher, Innovative and Daring Figures Among the Rabbis of the West (
(Heb.), in M. Orfali and E. Hazan
90
I. Mor-Yosef, The Le
challenges created by secularism, and a review of his rulings shows that he
women
. While
ss shed
to note
ents
on and
ange in
, acknowledging his waning influence over a community that had
ous and
his
of his
ion to
dates to
o study
ld all
etails a number of women that studied Torah and
tly. He
omen
id-18th
f a rich
manner
anted to
d Rabbi
ince his
nded to
Azzai,
. Rabbi
is also
exempt from the study of Torah! She answered that he did not remember the
rds of Maimonides, who said that a woman who studies Torah is rewarded as
ugh he is not obligated to do so.
r in the

92
Y. Mesas, Naxalat Avot (vol. 1-6, Jerusalem. 1971-1987).
93
Z. Zohar, She Who Studies Torah is Greatly Rewarded: Rabbi Yosef Mesas and a Womans
Right to Study Torah (Heb.), Peamim 82 (2000), 150-161.
preferred to respond to halakhic questions with leniency.
Zvi Zohar has examined several of Rabbi Mesas writings on learned
and has addressed the question of Mesas response to womens Torah study
the sources Zohar has reviewed are not explicitly halakhic, they nonethele
light on Rabbi Mesas general approach to the issue. It is also important
that historically this period saw a weakening of the rabbinic establishm
authority over the Jewish community due to forces of secularizati
immigration. Rabbi Mesas was one of the few rabbis to respond to this ch
the status quo
traditionally looked to its rabbis for guidance and direction in both religi
secular matters.
Rabbi Mesas used to teach a regular class in Pirkei Avot; through the years
lessons were collected, and his son sporadically published volumes
teachings.

92
Zvi Zohar
93
examined these writing, paying special attent
Rabbi Mesas approach to womens Torah study. In a sermon that Zohar
the summer of 1953, Rabbi Mesas discusses the Mishnah that says, All wh
Torah are rewarded many things. Rabbi Measas explained that the wor
comes to include women. He d
were talmidot xakhamim, even though the Shuxan Arukh ruled differen
refers his audience to the encyclopedia Otzar Yisrael, where the heading w
provides a list of talmidot xakham.
He then tells two stories. The first one is from Algiers from the m
century. The story is about a young, pretty woman who is the daughter o
father, who wont marry because she wishes to study Torah in the same
that the Talmud mentions in connection with the Tanna Ben Azzai, who w
study Torah non-stop and thus refused to marry. Her father approache
Aiyash, one of the most important rabbis of Algiers, and asked him to conv
daughter to get married. The daughter explained that since a man is comma
procreate and can be exempt from this if he wishes to study Torah, like Ben
then a woman even more so, because she is not obligated to procreate
Aiyash asked her: a woman might be exempt from procreation, but she
wo
meone who performs a mitzvah even tho so
Moreover, she said she was not interested in reward either in this world o


next. Rabbi Aiyash was convinced, and he asked her father to allow her
Torah. After a short while Rabbi Aiyash dreamt that a Spanish fleet was
attack the city, and the learned woman came out and struck their heads.
after a while a real Spanish fleet that was on its way to the city drowned

to study
about to
Indeed,
in a storm.
old.
of poor
e dowry
ents she
ght and
re was buried under her bed.
and she
have an
udy of Torah, and the desire to study Torah can exempt a man
compel
on, but
th other
ussion,
ing in a
elies on
he wishes to embed these values in Jewish culture with
arch on
s within
time that resorted to such discourse.
e find more texts that discuss the merit of women, and we also find some that
iscuss the changing reality of womens status. This approach is similar to the
dern orthodox rabbis in the 90s.

Rabbi Malka was born in Morocco in 1911 to a family of rabbis. He studied
with his father and brother and served as a rabbi and a dayan in several Moroccan
communities. Before he came to Israel he was the deputy to the head of the
rabbinical court in Casablanca. When he came to Israel he served as the Rabbi of
The girl continued to study Torah, came to Israel and lived to be 100 years
The second story takes place in Telmesan. A pretty girl, the daughter
parents, wouldnt marry a rich groom even though her parents needed th
because she wished to study Torah. After a lot of begging from her par
asked for three days to think about it and consider. After three days of thou
prayer, the girl dreamt on the third night that a treasu
After they dug they found a big treasure that her parents could live on,
could study Torah without having to take care of her family.
Zvi Zohar claims that these stories send several messages. Women
equal part in the st
or a woman from family life. Furthermore, men who have authority cannot
women to get married.
Its hard to draw any conclusions about halakhic positions from a serm
this can still teach us about Rabbi Mesas views. It seems to coincide wi
elements of his halakhic writings. Even though there is no halakhic disc
Zohars work does shed light on the position of a Sephardic rabbi operat
context of modernity, who wants to be part of a modern society that r
liberal values while
minimal tendency to insularism. The other examples mentioned in rese
Rabbi Mesas show the same tendency of wishing to adopt liberal value
traditional Jewish society.
This is not the only rabbinic source of the
W
d
rhetoric used by mo

2. Rabbi Moshe Malka

Petach Tikva.
94
He was the author of several books, and among other things deal
with the issue of Talmud Torah for women.
t
y 1973,
certain
o study
ah was
women
n of the
exempt
hnah in
or this,
is tantamount to studying in
ord All that
con
for] Written Torah and all the commandments that women are bound
can obey
them.

the
rah, and
g Torah
s Rabbi
part in
ut when
e depths of
and own
getting wiser and more developed than men.

,

97
94
M. Malka, Mikveh Mayim, 1 (Jerusalem, 1968), introduction (unpaginated).
95
Ibid., 3:21.
96
Ibid.
97
Ibid.
95
In a responsum dated Januar
Rabbi Azriel Licht, who was in charge of Jewish religious studies in a
school, approached Rabbi Malka after a rabbi in the area forbade women t
Torah. He wanted to know whether having women teach or study Tor
objectionable. Rabbi Malka answered that since it is a regular custom for
to teach and study Torah it is obvious that this is done with the permissio
Torah sages of the generation. He cited several sources to prove that.
He begins with the Talmud (Kidd. 29b), which states that women are
from studying Torah. As noted, according to R. Eliezer, cited in the Mis
tractate Sotah, women are not allowed to study Torah. The reason f
according to the Talmud, is that womens Torah study
er to be cunning enough to be able to sin without being caught.
cerns Oral Torah. However, Maimonides also writes that
[As
by and pertain to them, women need to know them, so that they

96
However, Rabbi Malka doesnt deal with the fact that Maimonides in
beginning of his remarks did not allow women to study even written To
ruled that only de facto this was not an offense.
Rabbi Malka makes a further point. The prohibition of women studyin
is based on the ruling of Rabbi Eliezer in the Mishnah. This ruling, explain
Malka, was the outcome of a historical period when women did not take
public life. They only took part in private life in their private homes. B
women take a big part in communal, public life, They delve into th
external wisdoms and fill the benches of the universities, they run offices
businesses, they have a say in the running of the state and in politics, they are
,


In such a situation Rabbi Malka maintains that Rabbi Eliezer would ad
women may and indeed must be taught Oral Torah, so

mit that
that the study of Torah may
ser
sinterpret
ld Rabbi
and they
ase them
ocean
y can go
y Torah and
teach it they would stay home to deal with wool and linen, I would agree. But to
orbid!

?

? ,

Torah is
almuds
ivity.
the Beis
certain
ssion is
and he
s of this
cational
ould be
exclude
ying Torah. This is a good example of a halakhic text that uses
terminology utilized by modern Orthodox rabbis in the late 20th century. His
reasoning, that there was a change in the historical context that warrants a
oning in

98
D. Ellenson and E. Ben-Naim, Women and the Study of Torah: A Responsum by Rabbi Zalman
Sorotzkin of Jerusalem, Nashim 4 (2001), 119-139.
99
Cf. my findings about the modern orthodox rabbinate, Fuchs (supra n. 62), ch. 5.
ve a weapon against the heresy they encounter. He writes:
Because of the concern that there is a shadow of a doubt that she will mi
and misuse Torah, should we give up all the benefits that we gain? Wou
Eliezer have said such things in our time, when girls fill the secular schools
go about the street until the early hours of the morning? Would we rele
from the study of Torah so they can have time to go around and swim in the
and go to the movies? Can we exempt them from the study of Torah so the
to secular schools? If I knew that if we would forbid women to stud
give her the opportunity not to study and to deal with idle things, heaven f
,
,
?
?
, ,
Thus, Rabbi Malka maintains that in our days, a woman not studying
comparable to a woman engaged in idle activity the opposite of the T
statement that compares women studying Torah to people engaging in idle act
He mentions a sermon that was given by Rabbi Sorotzkin, who supported
Yaakov school chain for women in Ashkenazic communities, despite
criticisms of changes in the traditional ways of education.
98
The discu
mainly on the practical level. He understands that reality has changed,
declares that the main consideration from his point of view is that rabbi
generation do not oppose what is happening in womens religious edu
institutions. Moreover, he adds that even the words of Rabbi Eliezer sh
interpreted in historical context: the current reality does not allow us to
women from stud
reinterpretation, is novel. He is one of the first to use this kind of reas
halakhic discourse.
99

It is interesting to compare his approach with that of Rabbi Shlomo Ma
uncle.
lka, his
Nachum
artoum
Jewish
cosm of
odern
The
ich are
to treat
oroccan
d, a
bbinical
s
R bi Elijah Hazan, who sent Rabbi Malka to Khartoum we find
ositive positions towards modernity and some novel positions concerning
omens status.
103

ed as a
judge in the Tel Aviv and Jerusalem rabbinical courts upon immigrating to Israel.
An enthusiastic student of Maimonides halakhic tradition,
104
Kapachs expertise
was not limited to traditional Jewish studies. His knowledge of other disciplines,
e (Heb.),
9), 90-111.
uestion of
nd Hazan
Betzalel, A Saying of the Jewish Woman of the East, in N. Ilan et-al (eds.), A Good Eye:
Dialogue and Polemic in Jewish Culture (Heb.; Tel-Aviv, Herzog Center, 1999), 197-223; Zohar
(supra n. 14), ch. 6.
104
S. Daichovsky, Characteristics of the Halakhic Methodology of Rabbi Kapach (Heb.), in Z.
Amar and H. Sery (eds.), Sefer Zikkaron Le-Rav Yosef ben David Kapax Z.T.L., 2d ed. (Ramat-Gan,
2006), 23-28.
100
The personal history of Rabbi Shlomo Malka was discussed by
Ilan, who wrote about his position as rabbi of the Jewish community of Kh
in Sudan. This community was relatively small and was connected to the
community of Egypt. The changes in this community, which was a micro
Mizra i Jewish communities, a x llow us to learn about the processes that took place
in the first half of the 20th century.
The analysis of Rabbi Malkas publications teaches that he adopted a m
outlook concerning womens place in public life, including education.
101
common processes they go through in respective communities, wh
undergoing an accelerated process of modernization, and their attempts
these phenomena in similar fashion, teach us about possible reactions of M
rabbis to secularism and also about the rabbinical perspective towards the worl
phenomenon which calls for additional research with regard to other ra
figures in Morocco.
102
As Nachum Ilan pointed out with regard to other rabbi
for example ab
p
w

3. Rabbi Yosef Kapach

Rabbi Yosef Kapach, a leading Sephardic decisor from Yemen, serv

100
N. Ilan, From Morocco to Sudan: Rabbi Shlomo Malka A Leader in Time of Chang
Peamim 80 (199
101
N. Ilan, A Conservative Revolutionist: The Position of Rabbi Shlomo Malka on the Q
Jewish Women in Jewish Society in Sudan (Heb.), Peamim 91 (2002), 123-151.
102
N. Ilan, The Tolerance of Rabbi Shlomo Malka and its Limits (Heb.), in Orfali a
(supra n. 89), 16-30.
103
Y.


including philology

tings.
al Jewish
of
begins
ishnah
fference
ves that
se
r hand,
they are
Kapach
y women would
ruled in
view of
that
orah as
a-torah
c notions are inferred through
nai, and
hich are
h in this
should say that there is no prohibition on the entire
ed on the
d of the
first chapter of Mishnah Hagigah, have what to rel there is
no prohibition to teach them.
107

ya Gaons
eb.), ibid., 132-146; H. Shay, Rabbi Kapachs Translation of
), ibid., 147-166.
106
Z. Amar, Some Principles of Rabbi Kapachs Method of Identifying Plants and Other Realia
(Heb.), ibid., 68-73; Y. Seri, Rabbi Kapachs Tradition About Translation of Animal Names in the
Torah, (Heb.), ibid., 82-93; E. Segal, Halakhah and Reality: Three Themes in Rabbi Kapachs Written
and Oral Works (Heb.), ibid., 94-106.
107
Y. Kapach, Ketavim, 1 (Jerusalem, 1989), 103.
105
and biology
106
also influenced his rabbinic wri
Indeed most of his published works are scientific editions of mediev
writings, specifically Maimonides. He has also published a few halakhic works
his own.
In the 1970s Kapach addressed the issue of womens Torah study. He
with a discussion of the exact wording of Maimonides commentary on M
Sotah that prohibits women from studying Torah. He deals with the di
between Rashis interpretation and Maimonides interpretation. Rashi belie
the prohibition of womens Torah study stems from the fear that women will u
the knowledge they acquire to behave immodestly. Maimonides, on the othe
claims that the reason is that women will not appreciate the material
studying, and they will consider the teachings of Torah to be idle teaching.
finds Maimonides interpretation curious and wonders wh
consider the Torahs teaching as idle. He also wonders why Maimonides
accordance with Rabbi Eliezer, since Rabbi Eliezer represents the halakhic
Beit Shammai, a view which, when disputed, is generally not accepted.
Rabbi Kapach proposes a novel explanation of Maimonides. He thinks
Maimonides sees the focus of the prohibition of women studying T
referring to the thirteen exegetical techniques of the rabbis (middot she-h
nidreshet bahen). He explains that many halakhi
midrashic exegesis and are based on the tradition given to Moses at Si
women will not understand this aspect of the Oral Torah. They will therefore
consider disagreements among the sages about midrashic interpretation w
far from the plain meaning of the text to be idle teaching.
His conclusion is that the prohibition applies only to teaching Halakha
manner: From now on you
Oral Torah, but only on those that are really oral and are ostensibly bas
midrashic techniques. But those that have solid foundations, as in the en
y on. Regarding this

105
E. Schlossberg, The Contribution of Rabbi Kapach to the Study of Rabbi Saad
Commentary on the Torah (H
Maimonides Commentary on the Mishnah (Heb.
' '
, '
.
Why does Maimonides distinguish Oral Torah from written Torah?
Kapach doesnt have a convincing explanation of this. He conclud
Maimonides had a source that we do not have today. In any case, he cla
women can study on their own and that women can teach other women. H
teacher can study Talmud so that she can properly teach written Torah, and
also teach her students. He adds that the prohibition is that a father canno
his daughter, and some say that this means only that a man is not allowed
a woman. He also says that a woman who is adamant t

'
Rabbi
es that
ims that
ence a
she can
t teach
to teach
o study Talmud is not like
such a
oes not
, which
give
wever,
ry, and
ity. He
t of the
d
current
als with
ontext.
parison
es who
unique
etation,
hich has
changes
shed to
allow women to study Torah to whatever extent was possible according to the
xts, even at the price of an interpretation which is far from the
ne.
sponsum testifies to a change in accepted values. It has
only one parallel, in the writings of the 7th Lubavitcher Rebbe, which also reflect

108
Ibid, 104.
109
Ibid, 105.
most women, who Maimonides feared would misunderstand Oral Torah;
woman should not be discouraged from studying.
108
This, of course, d
refer to commandments which women must study so they may fulfill them
should be studied in depth. For if a woman does not do so, she might
improper weight to certain commandments or their details.
109

All of this applies to the study of Mishnah, Talmud and halakhah. Ho
with regard to Jewish philosophy, Rabbi Kapach writes that this is mandato
all women should study it according to their level of intellectual capac
quotes Maimonides in the Guide to the Perplexed, who wroite that par
knowledge of God is derived from the study of nature, so women and men shoul
be taught elements of mathematics, physics, geometry and astronomy.
Rabbi Kapachs conclusion doesnt really mention changes in
perceptions as the reason behind his response. Most of his discussion de
fundamental aspects of the issue, without considering the historical c
However his response does reflect a changed perception of women in com
to that of the other decisors discussed here, as well as of other authoriti
operated in both the Ashkenazic world and outside. Rabbi Kapachs
interpretation of Maimonides, which contrasts with the accepted interpr
testifies both to Rabbi Kapachs halakhic independence, a phenomenon w
not yet been researched properly, and to his desire to address value-
relating to womens status in modern society. Clearly, Rabbi Kapach wi
halakhic te
traditional o
This extraordinary re


changed perceptions of womens roles in modern reality, which I have dealt
elsewhere.

with
sitated a
orah study, they merely accept de facto that there is reason
ponsum
e part in
ch is
ents in Jewish philosophy, accounts not only for the
rast between this answer and others, but also for its uniqueness. It is
oundbreaking response in expanding the boundaries of
.
65 and
e such
essed to
e to
en in an
s Torah
erakhot
to their
lives should be encouraged, so that women will not turn to books of heresy.
ov, the
halakhic
that for
fifty years Israeli schools have been teaching young women Mishnah without any
2.
Y. Levine, Rabbi Nissims Responsum about Women and Torah Study (Heb.), Akdamot 13
(2003), 33-56.
112
M. Beresh, Rabbi Nissim Ruled that Girls Can Study Torah (Heb.), Yediot Axaronot,
6.4.1961, 2.
113
I discuss this issue in my dissertation; see Fuchs (supra n. 62), ch. 5.
110
While other responsa recognize the fact that reality neces
change in womens T
for change. But here we see a positive perception of the change. This res
doesnt condemn past reality, but it recognizes the fact that women can tak
the world of Torah study.
It should be noted that the philosophical heritage of Rabbi Kapach, whi
based on rationalist elem
cont
unquestionably a gr
ens Torah study wom

4. Rabbi Yitzchak Nissim

Rabbi Yitzchak Nissim, Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel between 19
1973, was a student of the Babylonian (Iraqi) halakhic tradition and frequently
cited the Ben Ish - ai in his responsa. Yael Levine has published on
responsum on the issue of womens Torah study.
111
This responsum, addr
Rabbi Akiva Tennenboim, was prompted by the letter Tennenboim wrot
Nissim after a newspaper publicized
112
that Nissim permitted young wom
important Religious Zionist school to study Torah.
113

Tennenboim presented the traditional sources that prohibit women
study, and Nissim clarified that the students in question studied Tractate B
in the Mishnah. Nissim argued that the study of halakhot that are relevant
daily
Nissim also cites the Chafetz Chaims letter of support of Beis Yaak
Ashkenazi Orthodox educational school network for girls, and noted that
literature includes several examples of learned women. Finally, he stated
protest.

110
Fuchs (supra 62), ch.
111
n.
Rabbi Nissim knew female Torah scholars.
114
Levines research uncovered
issims correspondence with one woman in particular whose letters demonstrate
er extensive knowledge of halakhah. While Levine concludes that Nissim did not
ppose the idea of women as halakhic decisors, I believe this conclusion is
nfounded.

ily of
the
s
n most
alakhic
rabbinic
Most of the books he wrote are written in a simple style, and target the large
debate,
h. In his
ssue of
Halevi of
.
Between
zky (ed.),
265; M.
m, 2003),
iversal Political Values and Religious Zionism: A Guide to the Thought of
N
h
o
u

5. Rabbi Chaim David Halevi

Rabbi Chaim David Halevi was born in Jerusalem in 1924 to a fam
Turkish descent.
115
A graduate of Porat Yosef and Shaarei Tzion, two of
Sephardic yeshivot in Israel at the time, Halevi later served as a judge in Israel
Supreme Rabbinical Court.
116
Identifying as a religious Zionist whe
supporters of this doctrine were Ashkenazim, Halevi became a prominent h
decisor who played an important role in developing the Sephardic
establishment in Israel.
public that had only basic religious training. He avoids detailed halakhic
although in some of his halakhic articles he deals with issues in dept
117
halakhic rulings he cites many kabbalistic sources.
118
He discussed the i

114
Levine (supra n. 111), 39.
115
G. Amitai, The Life of My Father, My Teacher, My Rabbi, Rabbi Chaim David
Blessed Memory (Heb.), in A. Sagi et al. (eds.), Yahadut Shel -ayyim (Jerusalem, 2005), 386
116
M. Helinger, Religion and State in Religious-Zionist Sephardic Thought
Compartmentalization and a unifing bond Rabbis Uziel and Halevi (Heb.), in A. Ravit
Religion and State in Jewish Thought in the Twentieth Century (Heb.; Jerusalem, 2005), 219-
Helinger, Modernity, Halakhah and Democracy A Comparison Between the Early Leibowitz and
Rabbi Chaim David Halevi (Heb.), in A. Berholtz (ed.), Massa El Ha-Halakhah (Jerusale
354-384; Z. Zohar, Un
Rabbi Chaim David Halevi (Heb.), in A. Sagi et al. (eds.), Yahadut Penim Ve-- alog Bein
in an Age
of Rabbi Chaim David Halevi (Heb.), Yisrael 8 (2006), 73-94; A.
im David
5.
117
M. Faluch, Rabbi Chaim David Halevi Halakhic and Philosophical Heritage (Heb.),
Peamim 81 (2000), 108-119.
118
Y. Ahituv, Popular Kabbalah and Modernism in the Writings of Rabbi Chaim David Halevi
(Heb.), in Sagi (supra n. 115), 13-42; M. Halamish, Kabbalah in the Halakhic Rulings of Rabbi Chaim
David Halevi (Heb.), ibid., 205-214.
utz: Di
Olamot (Jerusalem 2000), 111-123; Y. Hamitovski, Oz Veshalom: Territorial Compromise
of Redemption in the Thought
Rosenak, Educational Factors and Halakhic Writing: Holiness in the Thought of Rabbi Cha
Halevi, Hagut 7 (2006), 171-200;.Amita iibid, pp. 389-39


Torah study for women in his book

Makor -ayyim Li-Benot Yisrael, literally A

e deals
ed, it is
answer
uses on
he term
h. But
rbade women to study Torah,
ver, it is
se they
try to
ition is
hen it is
of that
h ones
hat her
d this is
secular
f Rabbi
second,
proach
anges in
Rabbi
r role in public life.
ssion of
women
n. Many
he daily
religious newspaper of the National Religious movement, Ha-Tzofeh, where he
ther reason for publishing that responsum.
121

119
C. D. Halevi, Mekor Chaim Li-Benot Yisrael (Tel-Aviv, 1977), 205-208. A shorter version was
published in his book Aseh Lekha Rav, 2 (Tel-Aviv, 1978), ch. 52.
120
Faluch (supra n. 117), 111.
121
C. D. Halevi, Mayim Chaim, 2 (Tel-Aviv, 1995), ch. 69.
Source of Life for the Daughters of Israel.
119
To his short halakhic ruling about
the subject he added a long footnote, which is actually a letter in which h
with the issues of Torah study for women.
The question was whether, in a period when religious society is threaten
justified to teach girls who are high school graduates Oral Torah. The
opens with a discussion of the Mishnah in tractate Sotah. Rabbi Halevi foc
Rabbi Eliezers statement in the Mishnah and notes that he did not use t
forbidden; he was merely displeased with women studying Tora
Maimonides did not see matters this way, so he fo
and thus it seems that women are not allowed to study Oral Torah. Howe
well known that some women were talmidot xakhamim, probably becau
studied on their own. So at this point Rabbi Halevi says we should
understand why women are allowed to study on their own.
He explains that according to Maimonides, the reason behind this prohib
that most women interpret words of Torah as idle teaching. Therefore, w
clear that a woman is studying with proper intentions, she is not part
majority that was forbidden to study. That is why the prohibition to teac
daughter Torah applies only to a young child, when it is not clear w
character is. However, after she is an adult there is no such concern, an
certainly the case in a world where, in contrast to the past, women study
subjects.
This response manifests two prominent characteristics of the writings o
Halevi. First, his attitude to historical change as a halakhic factor,
120
and
his use of the laws objectives as a source of interpretation. His positive ap
towards changes in womens education is part of a larger structure of ch
perceptions concerning the role of women in modern lifer.
In other responsa dealing with the issue of women in judicial roles,
Halevi maintained that women should definitely take a bigge
Even though he doesnt deal with the material women can study, his discu
women in judicial roles indicates that he did not see anything wrong with
studying Torah to the extent necessary in order to be ordained as a Daya
years after he wrote this responsum, he published a short article in t
clarified that he had ano

The article published in Ha-Tzofeh quoted students who maintained
rabbinic prohibition of women studying Torah is not relevant in our time, so we
should be more lenient about it. One of the students said that the approac
talmudic rabbis was irrelevant. Rabbi Halevi said that he doesnt understand how a
religious woman can say such things, because a decree by the Sages can
nullified by the Sanhedrin and because this view completely undermines the
authority of the rabbis and the halakhah. He explained that his ruling pe
that the
h of the
only be
rmitting
ays, but
that one
l reality
changes
natural
imited.
ty of
istorical,
m other
erations
roles in
n we look at all of his responsa concerning the other in the Jewish world
of non-
oints on
wever,
lakhic tools leniently, in a
lar and
current
issue. It
ent category than a secular Jew
r a gentile. (Note that changes in reality concerning womens roles also
fluenced the core perceptions of Rabbi Chaim David Halevi.)
This text reflects two important phenomena: (a) it allows women access to
y by
sources
122
H. Borgansky, The Attitude of Rabbi Chaim David Halevi to Secular Jews (Heb.), in Sagi
(supra n. 115), 43-68; R. Lubitch, The Rightous Among the Nations in the Writings of Rabbi Chaim
David Halevi: Community and Natural Law and the Attitude to Gentiles, ibid., 215-234; A. Ravitzky,
Ways of Peace and the Status of the Gentiles in the Writings of Maimonides: An Exchange of Letters
with Rabbi Chaim David Halevi (Heb.), ibid., 255-285.
women to study Torah was not a leniency which was made up in our d
something based on the essence of the halakhah. From this we may infer
of the bases of Rabbi Halevis rulings was the understanding that socia
necessitates permitting women to study Torah, in light of the value
concerning womens roles in society and the changed perceptions of their
abilities, which in traditional society were considered to be l
Rabbi Halevi operated in a manner which does not undermine the authori
halakhah. He was influenced by considerations both metahalakhic and h
which find explicit expression in his writings. In this respect he differed fro
decisors who did not explicitly state their motives, even though their delib
do reflect between the lines issues of values and of changes in womens
the public sphere and changed perceptions of their natural abilities.
Whe
it seems that he has a tendency to be lenient. Investigation of his treatment
Jews and secular Jews suggests, however, that he had conservative viewp
these issues when it came to the core definitions of secular and gentile. Ho
in light of the complexities of modern reality, he used ha
manner that enabled him to allow for continuing connections between secu
religious Jews and between Jews and gentiles, which are necessary in
reality.
122

In this case he used a novel interpretation of the core definition of the
seems that the religious Jewish woman is in a differ
o
in
advanced Torah study; (b) the relevant rulings are substantiated not onl
reference to sources emanating from the Ashkenazi world mainly,


ing with the Beis Yaakov schools but also by reference to formulations
modern Orthodox discourse.

ourt and
nt on an
National
t is clear
dividual
sources
here are
pertain
ing that the anonymous opinion in Ha-
ted that
that he
n some
Psalms
Batzri
s Torah
, Batzri
rder to
n might
actually, misunderstand that if she sinned and was not punished
Batzri,
come to
n Azzai
concludes that women have a duty to learn Torah. Ben Azzai spoke about in-depth
, who held that women can only come
and listen to the Torah reading during the hakhel ceremony (which took place

123
E. Batzry, Shaarei Ezra, 1 (Jerusalem, 1978), ch. 62.
deal
found a few decades later in

G. Haredi Sephardic Rabbis Resisting Change

1. Rabbi Ezra Batzri

Rabbi Ezra Batzri served as a judge in Israels Supreme Rabbinical C
authored several books of responsa. In 1976 Batzri was asked to comme
anonymous opinion published in Ha-Tzofeh, a newspaper of the
Religious Party, which allowed young women to study the Talmud when i
that they will not misuse or misinterpret what they have learned. The in
who wrote to Batzri noted that this opinion seems to contradict the primary
that have traditionally prohibited womens Torah study,
123
and that while t
arguments that allow women to study Torah, these arguments presumably
to women in unique circumstances, but not to all women.
Batzri responds to this question, reveal
Tzofeh belonged to none other than Rabbi Chaim David Halevi. Batzri no
his interpretations of these texts differed from those of Halevi. Batzri stated
was inclined to forbid womens Torah study, although he recognizes that i
cases there is reason to break the rules. He bases this idea on a verse in
that states that there is a time to act for God, by disobeying Your Torah.
agrees with Halevi, however, that Maimonides ruling against women
leaves room for individual exceptions.
Citing the Mishnah in which Ben Azzai permits women to study Torah
argues that Ben Azzai meant that women should study Torah in o
understand how God operates in the world. For example, a woma
understand or,
immediately, there is no punishment for improper behavior. According to
Ben Azzai believed that if women study Torah in its entirety, they will
appreciate the encompassing power and influence of God in the world. Be
study, in contrast to R. Elazar Ben Azaryah
every seven years when the Torah was read to the public by the king), but
study like the men.
may not
the Taz
kh) that
ues that
serious
tand the
ng
Torah,
udy, is nonetheless
lead to
falls on
g a
erstand
rdinary
vidual conditions vary greatly.
Recalling fondly the traditional community of Gerba, Tunisia, Batzri asserts that
ould not have entertained the idea of womens Torah study.
society women are exposed to many anti-Torah values, and
needs of
ish life.
l result
with the
same
onal texts we have seen in the other responsa, citing opinions that both
tinction
onides
and others. Rabbi Cohen seems to agree with Rashis opinion that women are not
allowed to study Torah lest they use their knowledge to behave immodestly and
cunningly transgress Torah commands. He cites contemporary Haredi decisors
who promote study of only the written Torah and basic Jewish philosophy for
Batzri then acknowledges opinions such as those of Maimonides and
(by Rabbi David Halevi, a 17th century commentator on the Shulxan Aru
permit women only basic study of the written Torah. However Batzri arg
in modern times a very simplistic understanding of the Torah can lead to
misunderstanding, and therefore, one must study it in depth to fully unders
values and directives contained within it.
Finally, Batzri gleaned a lesson from Maimonides seemly problematic wordi
about womens Torah study. Maimonides stated that a women who studies
despite the fact that most opinions prohibit womens Torah st
rewarded for her effort. Batzri argues that this logic is fallible, as it could
the conclusion that someone who blows the shofar when Rosh Hashanah
Shabbat (when blowing the shofar is prohibited) is still rewarded for fulfillin
mitzvah, even though he transgressed a ruling of the Sages. Trying to und
Maimonides clearly illogical wording, Batzri concludes that in extrao
cases women may be permitted to study Torah, and that each case should be
xamined on its own merits, since indi e
previous generations w
owever, in modern H
those who do not wish to acknowledge the changing reality and changing
contemporary Jewish women risk alienating them from traditional Jew
Thus Batzri cautiously supports changes in halakhic interpretation that wil
in strengthening traditional Jewish society.

2. Rabbi Avraham Cohen

Rabbi Avraham Cohen, head of a yeshiva in Ramle, Israel and a member of the
Shas movement, published a short book of his responsa dealing, inter alia,
question of womens study of kabbalah. His answer draws on the
foundati
exempt women from Torah study and that prohibit this. He notes the dis
between the oral Torah and written Torah, and cites the decisions of Maim


women. Cohen supports this approach and prohibits womens study of ka
This response seems to coincide with the Haredi consensus I have de
elsewhere.
As for other Haredi-Sephardic decisors, Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, th
influential leader in this community, did not address this question in any
responsum. However, we can infer a good deal about his views regarding w
Torah study by considering other, related sources. Rabbi Yitzhak Yose
Ovadiah Yosefs son, authored an encyclopedic work called Yalkut Yos
ruling based on his fath

bbalah.
alt with
e most
specific
omens
f, Rabbi
ef. In a
ers writings, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef wrote that women can
udy Torah in the manner practiced by Haredi schools, namely, studying the
124
This response may be based on a
cussion written by Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef in the 1960s and published in
c newsletter. There he wrote about the halakhot pertaining to Torah
correct
kenazic
phardic
e case,
rical or
ed this argument on an analysis of Sephardic decisors
amental
unities.
ditional
pted by
ephardic
ses to this issue not only sheds light on the view of these decisors
oach to
tudy, as
they realized that the world around them was changing and that threats of
ilation would best be countered by fostering a strong Jewish identity in the
omen. Other rabbis strongly opposed even the
most basic Torah study for women, fearing that this study a radical departure

124
Yalkut Yosef, 1 (Jerusalem, 1985), 62-67.
st
written, as opposed to the oral Torah.
halakhic dis
a Sephardi
study and briefly addressed the issue of women study, noting that the
halakhic position is that of the Chafetz Chaim; he also cited several Ash
halakhists who agreed with this ruling.

H. Conclusion

In this paper I dealt with the commonly held belief that the Se
community and its halakhic tradition are monolithic. I argued that this not th
and that there is no reason to situate this community within a single histo
cultural context. I bas
responses to the issue of womens Torah study, a topic that plays a fund
role in the discussion of womens status in traditional Jewish comm
Discussion about the role and status of women often strikes a nerve in tra
societies, and it forces them to consider the secular values generally acce
the modern western world. For our purposes, then, an analysis of S
decisors respon
regarding women in Sephardic society, but, by extension, on their appr
secularism and modernity.
I found that some rabbis responded more liberally to womens Torah s
assim
communities young men and w
from the centuries-old status quo would destabilize the foundations of tra
Sephardic society.
Interestingly, I found that the halakhic trends apparent in the Se
responsa considered from liberally allowing womens Torah study to st
opposing it parallel the trends found in European halakhic texts from th
period. In research conducted elsewhere, I found that European and
rabbinic leadership was very suspicious of calls for change
ditional
phardic
aunchly
e same
Israeli
in young womens
s chose
r world,
t would
and not
unities
the
rst been raised in Eastern Europe.
. Still,
d what
Halevi,
ion for
y have
uropean
ess the
ers, but
omens
as the
system. Rabbi Batzri lamented the
changes forced upon the traditional Sephardic community by the situation in
modern Israel, and Rabbi Yosef used the same phraseology and reasoning as his
haredi c peers to severely limit womens education.
127

conclusion, there is no monolithic Sephardic halakhic tradition here.
Sephardic rabbis hailed from diverse communities in the Middle East and North
Africa before their immigration to Israel in the 1950s, and they maintained diverse
methods for interacting with and negotiating the changing social and religious
fter their immigration.

125
Fuchs (supra n. 62), 246-250.
126
T. El-Or, Educated and Ignorant: From the World of Haredi Women (Heb.; Tel-Aviv, 1992).
127
Fuchs (supra n. 62), 189-192.
religious education. Despite the fact that many women in these communitie
to abandon their religious lifestyle and situate themselves in the secula
rabbis still did not want to support the formation of Orthodox schools tha
provide a strong religious studies program. Ultimately, grass roots activists
the rabbinic establishment created Orthodox schools to meet their comm
needs. These schools only opened after the First World War, decades after
issue of womens Torah study had fi
Ultimately, the rabbinic establishments support for these schools grew
rabbis offered different opinions on what young women should be taught an
purpose their study should serve. Some leaders, like Rabbis Kapach and
whose responsa we discussed earlier, encouraged a strong Torah educat
women. In fact, the writings of Kapach and Halevi from the 1970s ma
influenced both the phraseology and the reasoning of Modern Orthodox E
and Israeli rabbis of the 1980s.
125

Other rabbis supported schools that would nurture women
126
who poss
knowledge and skills necessary for fulfilling their roles as wives and moth
nothing more. Rabbi Nissim, for example, supported Sephardic w
education as long as schools maintained the same educational approach
Haredi Ashkenazic Beis Yaakov school
Ashkenazi
In
realities of modern Israel a


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