May a woman recite a beracha over voluntary mitzva performance?
In Brief
What is a birkat ha-mitzva?
Before performing a mitzva, we typically recite a beracha (blessing), including the classic formula: “asher kiddeshanu be-mitzvotav ve-tzivanu…” “Who has sanctified us through His commandments and has commanded us….”
What is a birkat ha-mitzva for?
The beracha over a mitzva defines and enhances the mitzva act, and helps us focus our minds on performing it.
May a woman recite a beracha over voluntary mitzva performance?
Rabbeinu Tam says yes. Rambam says no.
What are the possible concerns?
- Beracha she-eina tzericha, an unwarranted beracha. This is prohibited as a form of saying God’s name in vain. Rabbeinu Tam says this is a rabbinic prohibition, which leaves more flexibility, but Rambam says it is on a Torah-level.
- “Ve-tzivanu,” “and [God] has commanded us.” A woman who is exempt has not been commanded.
How can we justify a woman who is exempt from a mitzva saying “ve-tzivanu“?
Ran explains that “us” refers to the Jewish people as a whole. Women can recite the beracha without saying anything inaccurate, because women are part of the Jewish people.
What is the practical halacha here?
Most Ashkenazi rulings follow Rema, who permits women to perform positive time-bound commandments and to recite berachot on them.
Shulchan Aruch, following Rambam, permits the mitzva act, but rules against women reciting these berachot. Other major Sefardi authorities, including Chida and Ben Ish Chai, allow women to recite berachot over positive time-bound commandments. Sefardi communities maintain different traditions on this matter.
In Depth
Rav Ezra Bick, Ilana Elzufon, and Shayna Goldberg, eds.
The Significance of Berachot
The beracha (blessing) we recite on a mitzva shapes and enhances our mitzva performance.When we recite a beracha on performing a mitzva, we praise God for giving us mitzvot, and sanctifying us through them. The classic formula is: “Baruch ata Ado-nai, Elo-heinu melech ha-olam, asher kiddeshanu be-mitzvotav ve-tzivanu…” “Blessed are You, Lord our God, Who has sanctified us through His commandments and has commanded us…,”followed by a description of the mitzva about to be performed.1
Beyond praise, a beracha may also be a sort of request for permission from God to go ahead and perform a Divine command.2 Even a command cannot be undertaken lightly.
Additionally, a beracha on a mitzva helps us orient ourselves properly toward the mitzva, as Ritva writes:
חידושי הריטב”א פסחים ז:
וטעם זה שאמרו חז”ל לברך על המצוה עובר לעשייתן כדי שיתקדש תחלה בברכה ויגלה ויודיע שהוא עושה אותה מפני מצות השי”ת [ה’ יתברך], ועוד כי הברכות מעבודת הנפש וראוי להקדים עבודת הנפש למעשה שהיא עבודת הגוף.
Chiddushei Ha-Ritva, Pesachim 7b
And the reason that our sages said to recite a beracha before performing a mitzva is in order to sanctify oneself first with the beracha and reveal and make known that one performs it [the mitzva] because of the command of God, may He be blessed. And further, because the berachot are a service of the soul and it is fitting to put the soul’s service before a [mitzva] act, which is service [by means] of the body.
Through berachot, we express our intention to fulfill the mitzva as avodat Hashem. A beracha is “a service of the soul.” When we recite one, we serve God spiritually prior to performing a physical mitzva act, “service of the body.”
The Question
While exempt from certain mitzvot, women are allowed to perform them voluntarily. Most authorities consider such performance meaningful and praiseworthy, a type of mitzva fulfillment. But this leaves us with a question.
May a woman about to perform a mitzva from which she is exempt first recite a beracha over it?
On the one hand, the reasons for berachot – praise of God, intentionality, and engaging the soul – should apply even if the mitzva is voluntary. On the other hand, we invoke God’s name when reciting a beracha. This is a serious matter, and we can’t just recite berachot whenever we want.
In his discussion of women and shofar, Rashi’s student Riva (quoted by Or Zarua) connects this question to how we view voluntary mitzva performance, as a neutral act or as a fulfillment of a mitzva.
First, some background. We would expect blowing shofar on Rosh Ha-Shana to be rabbinically prohibited as a form of muktzeh, except when done specifically to fulfill the mitzva. However, the rabbis permit men to blow shofar on Rosh Ha-shana even if they have already fulfilled the mitzva, and we follow the opinion of Rabbi Yosei and Rabbi Shimon that women may blow the shofar on Rosh Ha-shana as well.
ספר אור זרוע חלק ב – הלכות ראש השנה סימן רסו
מספקא ליה לרבי’ יצחק בר אשר זצ”ל אליבא דר’ יוסי ור”ש [ורבי שמעון] אם יכולות לברך על שופר או על שאר מצוות שאינן מחויבות אי חשיב ברכ’ [ברכה] אי לאו הואיל דשרינן להו לתקוע אף על גב דשבות הוא משמע דבטוב הם עושות ומקבלות שכר להכי נמי מברכות דלגמרי רשות הוא להן לקיים כמו לאנשים או דילמא האי דשרינן להו היינו משו’ [משום] שבות ותקיעה בר”ה [בראש השנה] כיון שהותרה לאנשי’ [לאנשים] דהא אפילו רצה לתקוע כל היום הרשות בידו ואף על פי שיצא כבר להכי נמי בנשי’ [בנשים] אינה שבות אבל האיך תברך אשר קדשנו וצונו והיא לא נצטוית
Or Zarua II Rosh Ha-shana 266
Rav Yitzchak bar Asher, of blessed memory, was in doubt – in the context of Rabbi Yose and Rabbi Shimon’s position – as to whether [women] can make a beracha over shofar or over other mitzvot in which they are not obligated, if it is considered a [proper] beracha or not.
Since we permit them to blow even though it is a rabbinic prohibition [for it is a form of muktzeh to blow shofar outside of the mitzva on Rosh Ha-shana], that implies that they are doing a good thing and they receive a reward. So they also make a beracha, for it is an optional [mitzva] for them to fulfill like men.
Or perhaps we permit them [to blow] because, since the rabbinic prohibition and blowing on Rosh Hashana is permitted to men – for a man who wishes to blow shofar all day long may do so, even though he already fulfilled his obligation – there is likewise no rabbinic prohibition for women. But how can she recite the beracha ‘Who has sanctified us and commanded us (vetzivanu)’ when she is not commanded?
Riva suggests two different ways to understand women’s shofar blowing and possible implications for reciting a beracha on shofar and on other mitzvot from which women are exempt:
I. Mitzva Fulfillment It is “a good thing” for which women “receive reward.” Though not obligated, women indeed fulfill a mitzva when acting voluntarily. Since it is a real mitzva act, reciting a beracha is appropriate.
II. Neutral Act Women’s shofar-blowing is halachically neutral, of merely subjective significance. It is similar to a man blowing shofar for recreation after he has already fulfilled his obligation. Since there is no mitzva to speak of, reciting a beracha referring to the commandment would be inappropriate.
Riva goes on to summarize different responses to his questions. We’ll do the same, focusing on the positions of Rambam, Rashi’s Teachers, Rashi, and Rabbeinu Tam.
Early Rulings
Rambam’s Ruling
Rambam permits a woman to perform a mitzva from which she is exempt, but without reciting a beracha.
משנה תורה לרמב”ם הלכות ציצית פרק ג הלכה ט:
… מצות עשה שהנשים פטורות מהן אם רצו לעשות אותן בלא ברכה אין ממחין בידן..
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Tzitzit 3:9
…Positive mitzvot from which women are exempt, if they want to perform them without a beracha, we do not rebuke them.
Why doesn’t Rambam allow women to recite berachot when performing mitzvot voluntarily?
He doesn’t say.
Though Riva suggested that this question depends on how we view the voluntary action, Rambam’s position on voluntary performance is unclear. Rambam rules elsewhere that a woman receives halachic reward for Torah study, even though she is not formally obligated.3 That suggests that there is some mitzva fulfillment at play. But Rambam doesn’t mention a similar reward when he discusses women performing voluntary mitzvot here, and the phrase “we do not rebuke” does not convey enthusiastic endorsement.
How can we, then, explain Rambam’s ruling? There are two main approaches:
I. Unwarranted Beracha Why would reciting a beracha over a voluntary act, especially if it is considered neutral, be a problem? To Rambam, a beracha she-eina tzericha, an unwarranted beracha, is a Torah-level prohibition,4 so we must exercise caution about berachot in general. For this reason, he does not permit berachot over customs – even if, like reciting Hallel on Rosh Chodesh, they have become universally accepted.
משנה תורה לרמב”ם הלכות ברכות פרק יא הלכה טז
כל דבר שהוא מנהג …כגון קריאת הלל בראשי חדשים ובחולו של מועד של פסח אין מברכין עליו, וכן כל דבר שיסתפק לך אם טעון ברכה אם לאו עושין אותו בלא ברכה, ולעולם יזהר אדם בברכה שאינה צריכה
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Berachot 11:16
Every matter that is a custom…like reciting Hallel on Rosh Chodesh and on Chol Ha-moed Pesach, we do not recite a beracha on it, and so too any matter that you are in doubt about whether or not it requires a beracha, we do without a beracha, and a person should always be cautious about a beracha she-eina tzericha.
If binding practice does not override concerns about an unwarranted beracha, why should women performing mitzvot voluntarily be any different?
Even if we say that voluntary performance has halachic value, perhaps Rambam maintains that we can only recite a beracha when there is an obligation.
II. Ve-tzivanu? Alternatively, perhaps Rambam is troubled by another question, raised here by Hagahot Maymoniyot (Rav Meir Ha-Kohen, 13th c. Ashkenaz):
הגהות מיימוניות הלכות ציצית פרק ג:מ
ותימה גדול הוא דהיאך תאמר אקב”ו בדבר שאין חייבות מדאורייתא ולא מדרבנן … היאך יכולות לומר וצונו
Hagahot Maymoniyot, Laws of Tzitzit, 3:40
It is a great astonishment, for how can she say “Who has sanctified us in His commandments and commanded us” in a matter that they [women] are not commanded in, not on a Torah-level and not rabbinically?…How can they say “vetzivanu?”
How can women performing voluntary mitzvot say “ve-tzivanu,” “and [God] has commanded us,” as part of a beracha? Perhaps saying “ve-tzivanu” even suggests a blurring of the lines between voluntarism and obligation.5
According to this logic, there is no fundamental objection to a woman reciting a beracha on voluntary performance. The required language formula just makes it impossible. When a beracha on voluntary performance, like the blessings on keri’at Shema, does not include “ve-tzivanu,” a woman may recite it. Perhaps a woman could even recite She-hechiyanu on relevant voluntary performance, even though she would not recite the beracha on the mitzva.
Either of these difficulties might have led Rambam to rule out reciting a beracha on voluntary mitzva performance.6
Rashi’s Teachers’ View
Even before Rambam, at some point in the early Middle Ages, Ashkenazi sages began to clarify this halacha. Judging from the sources, the issue had begun to arise in practice.
Two of Rashi’s teachers, Rav Yitzchak Ha-levi and Rav Yitzchak of Mainz,7 permit women to recite berachot over positive time-bound commandments.
מחזור ויטרי סימן שנט
כן הורה ר’ יצחק הלוי שאין מונעים מן הנשים לברך על לולב וסוכה. דהא אמרי’ [אמרינן] בפ”ק [בפרק קמא] דקידושין כל מצות עשה שהזמן גרמא נשים פטורות. לאפוקי (דאינו) [דאינן] חייבות ואינן צריכות. אבל אם חפיצות להביא עצמם בעול המצוה הרשות בידה. ואין מוחין לה. דלא גרעא ממי שאינו מצווה ועושה. ומאחר דמקיימת מצוה היא אי איפשר בלא ברכה.
Machzor Vitry 359
Rav Yitzchak Ha-levi ruled that we do not prevent women from reciting a beracha on lulav and sukka…. If they desire to bring themselves into the yoke of the mitzva, the permission is in her hand. We do not rebuke her. For it is no worse than one who is not commanded and does. Since she fulfills a mitzva, it is impossible without a beracha.
Rav Yitzchak Ha-levi considers a woman who acts voluntarily to be fulfilling a mitzva. As far as he is concerned, fulfilling a mitzva “is impossible without a beracha.” Beracha and mitzva act are inextricably linked. He raises no concerns about unnecessary berachot or about imprecise language surrounding command.
Rashi’s View
On this point, Rashi breaks with his teachers:
ספר אור זרוע חלק ב – הלכות ראש השנה סימן רסו
וכתב [ריב”א] בשם רש”י שהיה אוסר
Or Zarua II Rosh HaShana 266
And [Riva] wrote in the name of Rashi that he would prohibit [women from reciting a beracha on voluntary mitzva performance].
Rashi reportedly prohibits women from reciting berachot over mitzvot performed voluntarily. It is worth noting that Rashi, like Rambam, is generally conservative about reciting berachot when not clearly required. He too maintains that one should not recite a beracha on a custom.8
Rabbeinu Tam’s View
Rashi’s grandson, the Tosafist Rabbeinu Tam, argues that women should be allowed to recite berachot on voluntary performance.
קידושין לא. תוד”ה דלא
מדקדק רבינו תם דנשים מברכות על מצות עשה שהזמן גרמא אף על גב דפטורות לגמרי, דאפילו מדרבנן לא מיחייבי … דאי לאו הכי, היכי שמח רב יוסף והלא מפסיד כל הברכות כולן.
Kiddushin 31a Tosafot s.v. De-lo
Rabbeinu Tam inferred that women recite berachot over positive time bound mitzvot even though they are completely exempt, for even rabbinically they are not obligated…for if not, how was Rav Yosef happy [at the thought of being exempt from mitzvot and performing them voluntarily]? Would he not have lost all the berachot entirely?
Drawing on the Talmudic passage about the eino metzuveh ve-oseh (see here), Rabbeinu Tam9 points out that Rav Yosef originally found the idea of voluntary mitzva performance appealing. But according to Rabbeinu Tam, it’s unthinkable that he would have been happy to perform mitzvot if he were deprived of saying their berachot!10
It must be, then, that Rav Yosef took for granted that he would be allowed to recite berachot on the mitzvot that he would do voluntarily. A woman performing a positive time-bound mitzva is in a similar position and recites a beracha as well. Other halachic authorities, including Rashba, concur.11
Rabbeinu Tam himself notes how his perspective relates to his general position on berachot. Unlike Rambam, Rabbeinu Tam maintains that beracha she-eina tzericha is a rabbinic-level prohibition.12 If so, other factors, like nachat ru’ach shel nashim, women’s gratification, can more readily override the prohibition.
Furthermore, Rabbeinu Tam typically permits berachot over customs, such as reciting Hallel on Rosh Chodesh.13 Customs can fully integrate into the halachic system, to the point that they merit proper berachot.14
How can we justify a woman who is exempt from a mitzva saying “ve-tzivanu“?
Rabbeinu Tam does not address how a woman can say ‘ve-tzivanu’ over a mitzva she wasn’t commanded to do. Ran, though, makes the argument for him. He explains that a woman’s act derives its meaning to her from its being a mitzva in general.
ר”ן על הרי”ף ראש השנה ט:
למי שאינו מצווה ועושה נמי יש לו שכר הלכך בכלל מצוה הן דמברכות ולא נימא הואיל ולא נצטוו היאך יאמרו וצונו…דלא קשיא דכיון שהאנשים נצטוו ואף הן נוטלות שכר שפיר יאמרו וצונו:
Ran on the Rif, Rosh Ha-shana 9b
One who is not commanded and does also receives a reward. Therefore they [the women] are within the mitzva. For they recite a beracha, and we do not say: Since they were not commanded, how can they say “ve-tzivanu” [and He commanded us]? … For it is not difficult, because since the men were commanded and [the women] also receive a reward, they can well say “ve-tzivanu.”
“Ve-tzivanu” is plural. “Us,” in the context of the beracha, refers to the Jewish people as a whole. Women can recite the beracha with no concern of saying something inaccurate, because women are part of the Jewish people.
Women “also receive a reward” for voluntarily performing mitzvot, and Ran deduces from this that a woman is considered “within the mitzva.” Even if she isn’t personally commanded, she performs the mitzva as part of the commanded community, acting in the context of others’ command.15
Practical Halacha
Rema permits women to recite berachot over positive time-bound mitzvot:
שולחן ערוך אורח חיים הלכות ראש השנה סימן תקפט הגה:
והמנהג שהנשים מברכות על מצות עשה שהזמן גרמא
Gloss of Rema to Shulchan Aruch OC 589:6
And the custom is that women recite a beracha on a positive time-bound mitzva.
Most Ashkenazi rulings16 follow Rema and allow women to recite berachot.17
On the other hand, Shulchan Aruch, following Rambam, permits the mitzva act, but rules against women reciting these berachot. For example, regarding shofar, he writes:
שולחן ערוך אורח חיים הלכות ראש השנה סימן תקפט
אף על פי שנשים פטורות, יכולות לתקוע…אבל אין מברכות ולא יברכו להן.
Shulhan Aruch OC 589:6
Even though women are exempt, they can blow [the shofar]…But they may not recite a beracha and [men] should not recite a beracha for them.
Notwithstanding Shulchan Aruch‘s ruling, major Sefardi authorities, among them Chida and Ben Ish Chai,18 allow women to recite berachot over positive time-bound mitzvot, at least those widely practiced.
Chida initially disapproved of the beracha as unfounded because women independently initiated this custom. He changed his mind when he encountered a responsum by Rav Yaakov of Marvège, permitting women to recite berachot on lulav and shofar.19 Rav Yaakov claimed that his responsum was literally revelatory, from on High.
שו”ת יוסף אומץ סימן פב
מעת שראיתי מה שהשיבו מן השמים לרבינו יעקב ממרוי”ש כמו שכתבתי בברכי יוסף, נהגתי לומר לנשים שיברכו על הלולב וכמנהג קדום שהיו נוהגות הנשים בעיר הקודש. גם שמר”ן ז”ל פסק שלא יברכו, נראה אילו שלטו עיניו הקדושות בתשובת ר”י [רבינו יעקב] ממרוי”ש … ודאי כך היה פוסק ומנהיג .ובכי הא לא שייך לא בשמים היא דכיוון דיש הרבה גדולים בפו’ [בפוסקים] דס”ל [דסבירא להו] דיברכו אהניא לן לפסוק כמותן דאית לן סייעתא דשמיא.
Responsa Yosef Ometz 82
Since I saw the Heavenly response to Rabbeinu Yaakov of Marvège, as I wrote in Birkei Yosef, I have been accustomed to tell women to make a beracha on the lulav as was the old custom that women have practiced in the holy city. Although our master [Shulchan Aruch] ruled that they should not make a beracha, it seems that if he were to lay his holy eyes on Rabbeinu Yaakov of Marvège’s responsum…certainly he would rule and implement custom like this. And in this case the principle “it is not in Heaven” is irrelevant, since there are many great halachic decisors who maintained that [women] may make berachot, it enables us to rule in accordance with them as we have Heavenly support.
Chida was prepared to condemn women’s berachot as a mistaken innovation. But the combination of accepted practice, a responsum written under Divine influence, and prominent halachic authorities who permit it enable Chida to support women reciting a beracha, at least on shofar and lulav.
In marked contrast, and in line with his halachic program of bringing Sefardi halachic rulings into conformity with the Shulchan Aruch, Rav Ovadya Yosef vociferously opposes women reciting these berachot.
Rav Ovadya calls for the revision of custom so that all Sefardi women would follow the Shulchan Aruch:
שו”ת יביע אומר חלק ה : או”ח סימן מג
הרי לא באנו להורות הלכה לנשים האשכנזיות לעשות היפך הוראת הרמ”א… אלא באנו להורות לנשים הספרדיות (שלפי עדות זקני חכמי דורו של החיד”א נהגו כן בבלי דעת,) לחזור להוראת הרמב”ם ומרן, שלא לברך ברכות לבטלה …
Responsa Yabi'a Omer 5 O.C. 43
For we did not come to rule for Ashkenazi women to do the opposite of the Rema’s ruling… Rather we have come to rule for Sefardi women (who according to the testimony of the elders of the sages of the generation of the Chida practiced thus [making berachot] without knowing [any better]) to return to the ruling of the Rambam and our master [the Shulchan Aruch], that they should not recite a beracha in vain.
Rav Ovadya extends his ruling even to berachot in prayer that do not include the phrase “ve-tzivanu,” since the main issue for him is beracha she-eina tzericha. As noted above, the conlcusion might be different for one who views “ve-tzivanu” as the reason for which women may not recite a beracha.20
Rav Ovadya’s contemporary, Rav Chayim David Ha-Levi (former Sefardi Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv) rules more moderately:
מקור חיים לבנות ישראל, מבוא, עמ’ 15
למסקנא דדינא: מקום שנהגו הנשים לברך על מצות עשה שהזמן גרמא יש להורות להן שימשיכו לברך, ובמקום שאין מנהג ברור, רצוי להורות לשואלות שלא יברכו, אך אין למחות כלל בנשים המברכות, או בידי מי שמורה להן לברך.
Mekor Chayim for Daughters of Israel, Introduction, p. 15
In conclusion of the Halacha: In a place where women are accustomed to reciting a beracha on a positive time-bound mitzva, one should rule for them that they continue to recite it. In a place where the custom is unclear, it is desirable to rule for those who ask [that they should] not recite a beracha, but one should not protest at all women who recite a beracha, or anyone who rules for them that they should recite a beracha.
Out of concern for Shulchan Aruch’s view and for established custom, Rav Ha-Levi writes that “it is desirable” that a woman whose family practice on reciting berachot is unclear should be instructed not to, but he adds that a ruling to allow all women to recite berachot is valid, and that any woman who does recite berachot should be freely allowed to do so.
How can women relate this halachic discussion to practice?
When a woman performs a positive time-bound commandment from which she is exempt, it should be with care to perform it scrupulously and with intentionality, in accordance with the opinions that hold that the act is a fulfillment of a mitzva.
Women who do not make berachot on these commandments can consider reciting a beracha without mentioning God’s name and kingship. The focus here remains firmly on the mitzva act, which may be fulfillment of the mitzva.
Women who do make berachot on these commandments should remember the various purposes a beracha on a mitzva serves: praising God and preparing ourselves to perform the mitzva properly.
When saying “ve-tzivanu,” a woman should remember that she is part of the Jewish people sanctified by God’s commands and that her act’s significance derives from God’s commandment, even though she is personally exempt. And she can keep Rav Eliezer Waldenberg’s statement in mind:
שו”ת ציץ אליעזר חלק ט סימן ב
…ואשריהן בנות ישראל כשירות הן שמחזרין אחר המצוות לקבל עליהן לקיימן ומברכות לד’ על כך כפי מה שהרשום, ומודים לו בברכת שהחיינו וקיימנו.
Tzitz Eliezer 9:2
Happy are they the worthy daughters of Israel, who chase after the mitzvot to take them upon themselves to fulfill them and recite berachot to God over this, as is permitted to them, and who thank Him with the beracha of she-hechiyanu ve-kiyemanu…
Notes
משנה תורה הלכות תלמוד תורה פרק א:ב-ג
ומדברי סופרים לברך על כל מאכל תחלה ואח”כ יהנה ממנו…. וכל הנהנה בלא ברכה מעל… וכשם שמברכין על ההנייה כך מברכין על כל מצוה ומצוה ואח”כ יעשה אותה.
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Berachot, 1:2-3
The rabbis [established the obligation] to recite berachot on every food beforehand, and afterwards to benefit from it…and anyone who receives benefit without a beracha has [acted like one who] benefitted [inappropriately] from a sacred object…Just as we recite berachot over benefit, we recite berachot over each and every mitzva and [only] then perform it.
משנה תורה הלכות תלמוד תורה פרק א :יג
אשה שלמדה תורה יש לה שכר אבל אינו כשכר האיש, מפני שלא נצטוית, וכל העושה דבר שאינו מצווה עליו לעשותו אין שכרו כשכר המצווה שעשה אלא פחות ממנו
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Talmud Torah 1:13
A woman who learned Torah receives a reward, but it is not equivalent to the man’s reward because she is not commanded, and anyone who does something that he is not commanded to do, his reward is not equivalent to the reward of one who is commanded and did, but rather less than that.
משנה תורה הלכות ברכות פרק א הלכה טו
כל המברך ברכה שאינה צריכה הרי זה נושא שם שמים לשוא והרי הוא כנשבע לשוא
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Berachot 1:15
Whoever recites an unwarranted beracha, takes the Heavenly name in vain and it is as if he made an oath in vain.
5. Rav Yeshaya De-Trani suggests that, for this reason, a voluntary act performed along with a beracha is a violation of bal tosif, adding on to the commandments.
ספר שבולי הלקט סדר ראש השנה סימן רצה
ורבינו ישעיה זצ”ל כ’ דווקא בלא ברכה שרי להו לנשים לתקוע לעצמן אבל אם ברכו גילו דעתן שלשם חובה הן עושות ואיכא תרתי לאיסורא חדא דעוברות על בל תוסיף ועוד דאיכא ברכה לבטלה.
Shibolei Ha-leket, Rosh Ha-Shana 295
Rabbeinu Yeshaya wrote without a beracha is it permitted to women to blow for themselves, but if they recited a beracha, they have revealed their intention that they act out of obligation, and there are two [grounds] for prohibition: one, that they violate bal tosif, and two, that there is a beracha in vain.
ספר אור זרוע חלק ב – הלכות ראש השנה סימן רסו
ורבי’ יצחק בר יהודה היה מתיר לנשי’ [לנשים] לברך על כל מצות עשה שהז”ג [שהזמן גרמא]
Or Zaru'a II Rosh Ha-shana 266
Rabbi Yitzchak bar Yehuda permitted women to recite a beracha on every positive time-bound commandment.
רש”י סוכה מד:
מנהג נביאים היא. … הלכך אינה צריכה ברכה
Rashi Sukka 44b
It is a custom of the prophets…therefore it does not require a beracha.
שו”ת הרשב”א חלק א סימן קכג
והסכמתי כדברי מי שאומר שאם רצו עושות כל מצות עשה ומברכות
Responsa of Rashba 1:123
I agreed with the words of he who says that if they [women] want, they perform all positive mitzvot and recite a beracha.
ר”ה לג. תוד”ה הא
דמברך ברכה שאינה צריכה וקעבר משום בל תשא ליכא דההיא דרשה דרבנן
Tosafot Rosh Ha-shana 33a s.v. Ha
There is no problem of reciting an unwarranted beracha and violating the prohibition against saying God’s name in vain, because that textual expounding is rabbinic [and the prohibition is not on a Torah level].
13. Rabbeinu Tam presents a number of proofs that a beracha may be recited on a custom, and Mordechai presents Rabbeinu Tam as treating women’s performance as a custom.
סוכה מד: תוד”ה כאן
ור”ת [ורבינו תם] אומר דאין ראיה מערבה להלל דערבה אינה אלא טלטול וכיון דלאו תקנתא היא אלא מנהגא לא חשיבא למיקבע לה ברכה אבל קריאת ההלל לא גרע מקורא בתורה ודכוותיה אשכחן דמברכין אשני ימים טובים של גליות ואינו אלא מנהג בעלמא
Tosafot Sukka 44b s.v. Kan
And Rabbeinu Tam says that there is no proof from the willow [on Hoshana Rabba, which is a custom over which we do not make a beracha] that we should not make a beracha on Hallel [on Rosh Chodesh, which is also a custom]…For we recite berachot on Torah reading on both days of Yom Tov in the diaspora and this [second day] is merely a custom.
מרדכי מסכת שבת פרק במה מדליקין [רמז רפו]
וכן פי’ [פירש] רבינו תם [רמז רפו] דנשים מברכות על מ”ע [מצות עשה] שהזמן גרמא משום דנהגו לעשותן ולקיימן:
Mordechai Shabbat Chapter 2: 286
And so Rabbeinu Tam explained that women recite a beracha on positive time-bound commandments because they have a custom to perform them and fulfill them.
שו”ת יביע אומר חלק א – אורח חיים סימן לט
(ז) ומריש הוה אמינא דהאי מילתא תליא בפלוגתא אחריתי. אם איסור ברכה שאינה צריכה הויא מה”ת [מן התורה]…. (ט) ולכאורה יש לומר דהאי פלוגתא תליא במחלוקת רש”י ור”ת סוכה (מד:), אי מברכים אמנהגא או לא
Responsa Yabi'a Omer O.C. I:39
And at first, I thought that this matter depended on a different debate. If the prohibition of an unwarranted beracha is on a Torah level…and it would seem that one could say that this debate depends on the dispute of Rashi and Rabbeinu Tam in Sukka if we recite a beracha on a custom or not.
16. A notable exception is Divrei Yetziv O.C. 5, who reports that his grandfather, the Divrei Chayim, first Admor of Sanz, objected even to women’s voluntary performance. Available here.
17. Since the logic to permit reciting a blessing is based on the significance of voluntary performance of a mitzva act, Magen Avraham suggests that Rema may not extend that permission to berachot such as havdala, which are recited independently, and not as a precursor to a mitzva act.
We will discuss this viewpoint further in connection with havdala and kiddush levana.
מגן אברהם סימן רצו
ואפשר דדעת רמ”א במצוה שיש בה עשיה רשאין לעשות ולברך אבל בדבר שאין בה אלא הברכה כגון כאן אין רשאות
Magen Avraham 296
And it is possible that the opinion of Rema [is that] in a mitzva that has an act women are permitted to act and to recite a beracha but in a matter that only has the beracha such as here [his example is havdala] they [women] are not permitted [to recite a beracha].
שו”ת רב פעלים חלק א – סוד ישרים סימן יב
שהנשים יכולים ליטול ולברך כסברת ר”ת
Responsa Rav Pe’alim I: Sod Yesharim 12
Women may take lulav and recite a beracha like the logic of Rabbeinu Tam…
Sources
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The Significance of Berachot
חידושי הריטב”א פסחים ז:
וטעם זה שאמרו חז”ל לברך על המצוה עובר לעשייתן כדי שיתקדש תחלה בברכה ויגלה ויודיע שהוא עושה אותה מפני מצות השי”ת [ה’ יתברך], ועוד כי הברכות מעבודת הנפש וראוי להקדים עבודת הנפש למעשה שהיא עבודת הגוף.
Chiddushei Ha-Ritva, Pesachim 7b
And the reason that our sages said to recite a beracha before performing a mitzva is in order to sanctify oneself first with the beracha and reveal and make known that one performs it [the mitzva] because of the command of God, may He be blessed. And further, because the berachot are a service of the soul and it is fitting to put the soul’s service before a [mitzva] act, which is service [by means] of the body.
The Question
ספר אור זרוע חלק ב – הלכות ראש השנה סימן רסו
מספקא ליה לרבי’ יצחק בר אשר זצ”ל אליבא דר’ יוסי ור”ש [ורבי שמעון] אם יכולות לברך על שופר או על שאר מצוות שאינן מחויבות אי חשיב ברכ’ [ברכה] אי לאו הואיל דשרינן להו לתקוע אף על גב דשבות הוא משמע דבטוב הם עושות ומקבלות שכר להכי נמי מברכות דלגמרי רשות הוא להן לקיים כמו לאנשים או דילמא האי דשרינן להו היינו משו’ [משום] שבות ותקיעה בר”ה [בראש השנה] כיון שהותרה לאנשי’ [לאנשים] דהא אפילו רצה לתקוע כל היום הרשות בידו ואף על פי שיצא כבר להכי נמי בנשי’ [בנשים] אינה שבות אבל האיך תברך אשר קדשנו וצונו והיא לא נצטוית
Or Zarua II Rosh Ha-shana 266
Rav Yitzchak bar Asher, of blessed memory, was in doubt – in the context of Rabbi Yose and Rabbi Shimon’s position – as to whether [women] can make a beracha over shofar or over other mitzvot in which they are not obligated, if it is considered a [proper] beracha or not.
Since we permit them to blow even though it is a rabbinic prohibition [for it is a form of muktzeh to blow shofar outside of the mitzva on Rosh Ha-shana], that implies that they are doing a good thing and they receive a reward. So they also make a beracha, for it is an optional [mitzva] for them to fulfill like men.
Or perhaps we permit them [to blow] because, since the rabbinic prohibition and blowing on Rosh Hashana is permitted to men – for a man who wishes to blow shofar all day long may do so, even though he already fulfilled his obligation – there is likewise no rabbinic prohibition for women. But how can she recite the beracha ‘Who has sanctified us and commanded us (vetzivanu)’ when she is not commanded?
Early Rulings
משנה תורה לרמב”ם הלכות ציצית פרק ג הלכה ט:
… מצות עשה שהנשים פטורות מהן אם רצו לעשות אותן בלא ברכה אין ממחין בידן..
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Tzitzit 3:9
…Positive mitzvot from which women are exempt, if they want to perform them without a beracha, we do not rebuke them.
משנה תורה לרמב”ם הלכות ברכות פרק יא הלכה טז
כל דבר שהוא מנהג …כגון קריאת הלל בראשי חדשים ובחולו של מועד של פסח אין מברכין עליו, וכן כל דבר שיסתפק לך אם טעון ברכה אם לאו עושין אותו בלא ברכה, ולעולם יזהר אדם בברכה שאינה צריכה
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Berachot 11:16
Every matter that is a custom…like reciting Hallel on Rosh Chodesh and on Chol Ha-moed Pesach, we do not recite a beracha on it, and so too any matter that you are in doubt about whether or not it requires a beracha, we do without a beracha, and a person should always be cautious about a beracha she-eina tzericha.
הגהות מיימוניות הלכות ציצית פרק ג:מ
ותימה גדול הוא דהיאך תאמר אקב”ו בדבר שאין חייבות מדאורייתא ולא מדרבנן … היאך יכולות לומר וצונו
Hagahot Maymoniyot, Laws of Tzitzit, 3:40
It is a great astonishment, for how can she say “Who has sanctified us in His commandments and commanded us” in a matter that they [women] are not commanded in, not on a Torah-level and not rabbinically?…How can they say “vetzivanu?”
מחזור ויטרי סימן שנט
כן הורה ר’ יצחק הלוי שאין מונעים מן הנשים לברך על לולב וסוכה. דהא אמרי’ [אמרינן] בפ”ק [בפרק קמא] דקידושין כל מצות עשה שהזמן גרמא נשים פטורות. לאפוקי (דאינו) [דאינן] חייבות ואינן צריכות. אבל אם חפיצות להביא עצמם בעול המצוה הרשות בידה. ואין מוחין לה. דלא גרעא ממי שאינו מצווה ועושה. ומאחר דמקיימת מצוה היא אי איפשר בלא ברכה.
Machzor Vitry 359
Rav Yitzchak Ha-levi ruled that we do not prevent women from reciting a beracha on lulav and sukka…. If they desire to bring themselves into the yoke of the mitzva, the permission is in her hand. We do not rebuke her. For it is no worse than one who is not commanded and does. Since she fulfills a mitzva, it is impossible without a beracha.
ספר אור זרוע חלק ב – הלכות ראש השנה סימן רסו
וכתב [ריב”א] בשם רש”י שהיה אוסר
Or Zarua II Rosh HaShana 266
And [Riva] wrote in the name of Rashi that he would prohibit [women from reciting a beracha on voluntary mitzva performance].
קידושין לא. תוד”ה דלא
מדקדק רבינו תם דנשים מברכות על מצות עשה שהזמן גרמא אף על גב דפטורות לגמרי, דאפילו מדרבנן לא מיחייבי … דאי לאו הכי, היכי שמח רב יוסף והלא מפסיד כל הברכות כולן.
Kiddushin 31a Tosafot s.v. De-lo
Rabbeinu Tam inferred that women recite berachot over positive time bound mitzvot even though they are completely exempt, for even rabbinically they are not obligated…for if not, how was Rav Yosef happy [at the thought of being exempt from mitzvot and performing them voluntarily]? Would he not have lost all the berachot entirely?
ר”ן על הרי”ף ראש השנה ט:
למי שאינו מצווה ועושה נמי יש לו שכר הלכך בכלל מצוה הן דמברכות ולא נימא הואיל ולא נצטוו היאך יאמרו וצונו…דלא קשיא דכיון שהאנשים נצטוו ואף הן נוטלות שכר שפיר יאמרו וצונו:
Ran on the Rif, Rosh Ha-shana 9b
One who is not commanded and does also receives a reward. Therefore they [the women] are within the mitzva. For they recite a beracha, and we do not say: Since they were not commanded, how can they say “ve-tzivanu” [and He commanded us]? … For it is not difficult, because since the men were commanded and [the women] also receive a reward, they can well say “ve-tzivanu.”
Practical Halacha
שולחן ערוך אורח חיים הלכות ראש השנה סימן תקפט הגה:
והמנהג שהנשים מברכות על מצות עשה שהזמן גרמא
Gloss of Rema to Shulchan Aruch OC 589:6
And the custom is that women recite a beracha on a positive time-bound mitzva.
שולחן ערוך אורח חיים הלכות ראש השנה סימן תקפט
אף על פי שנשים פטורות, יכולות לתקוע…אבל אין מברכות ולא יברכו להן.
Shulhan Aruch OC 589:6
Even though women are exempt, they can blow [the shofar]…But they may not recite a beracha and [men] should not recite a beracha for them.
שו”ת יוסף אומץ סימן פב
מעת שראיתי מה שהשיבו מן השמים לרבינו יעקב ממרוי”ש כמו שכתבתי בברכי יוסף, נהגתי לומר לנשים שיברכו על הלולב וכמנהג קדום שהיו נוהגות הנשים בעיר הקודש. גם שמר”ן ז”ל פסק שלא יברכו, נראה אילו שלטו עיניו הקדושות בתשובת ר”י [רבינו יעקב] ממרוי”ש … ודאי כך היה פוסק ומנהיג .ובכי הא לא שייך לא בשמים היא דכיוון דיש הרבה גדולים בפו’ [בפוסקים] דס”ל [דסבירא להו] דיברכו אהניא לן לפסוק כמותן דאית לן סייעתא דשמיא.
Responsa Yosef Ometz 82
Since I saw the Heavenly response to Rabbeinu Yaakov of Marvège, as I wrote in Birkei Yosef, I have been accustomed to tell women to make a beracha on the lulav as was the old custom that women have practiced in the holy city. Although our master [Shulchan Aruch] ruled that they should not make a beracha, it seems that if he were to lay his holy eyes on Rabbeinu Yaakov of Marvège’s responsum…certainly he would rule and implement custom like this. And in this case the principle “it is not in Heaven” is irrelevant, since there are many great halachic decisors who maintained that [women] may make berachot, it enables us to rule in accordance with them as we have Heavenly support.
שו”ת יביע אומר חלק ה : או”ח סימן מג
הרי לא באנו להורות הלכה לנשים האשכנזיות לעשות היפך הוראת הרמ”א… אלא באנו להורות לנשים הספרדיות (שלפי עדות זקני חכמי דורו של החיד”א נהגו כן בבלי דעת,) לחזור להוראת הרמב”ם ומרן, שלא לברך ברכות לבטלה …
Responsa Yabi'a Omer 5 O.C. 43
For we did not come to rule for Ashkenazi women to do the opposite of the Rema’s ruling… Rather we have come to rule for Sefardi women (who according to the testimony of the elders of the sages of the generation of the Chida practiced thus [making berachot] without knowing [any better]) to return to the ruling of the Rambam and our master [the Shulchan Aruch], that they should not recite a beracha in vain.
מקור חיים לבנות ישראל, מבוא, עמ’ 15
למסקנא דדינא: מקום שנהגו הנשים לברך על מצות עשה שהזמן גרמא יש להורות להן שימשיכו לברך, ובמקום שאין מנהג ברור, רצוי להורות לשואלות שלא יברכו, אך אין למחות כלל בנשים המברכות, או בידי מי שמורה להן לברך.
Mekor Chayim for Daughters of Israel, Introduction, p. 15
In conclusion of the Halacha: In a place where women are accustomed to reciting a beracha on a positive time-bound mitzva, one should rule for them that they continue to recite it. In a place where the custom is unclear, it is desirable to rule for those who ask [that they should] not recite a beracha, but one should not protest at all women who recite a beracha, or anyone who rules for them that they should recite a beracha.
Q&A
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Hashkafic Q&A
How can women relate this halachic discussion to practice?
When a woman performs a positive time-bound commandment from which she is exempt, it should be with care to perform it scrupulously and with intentionality, in accordance with the opinions that hold that the act is a fulfillment of a mitzva.
Women who do not make berachot on these commandments can consider reciting a beracha without mentioning God’s name and kingship. The focus here remains firmly on the mitzva act, which may be fulfillment of the mitzva.
Women who do make berachot on these commandments should remember the various purposes a beracha on a mitzva serves: praising God and preparing ourselves to perform the mitzva properly.
When saying “ve-tzivanu,” a woman should remember that she is part of the Jewish people sanctified by God’s commands and that her act’s significance derives from God’s commandment, even though she is personally exempt. And she can keep Rav Eliezer Waldenberg’s statement in mind:
שו”ת ציץ אליעזר חלק ט סימן ב
…ואשריהן בנות ישראל כשירות הן שמחזרין אחר המצוות לקבל עליהן לקיימן ומברכות לד’ על כך כפי מה שהרשום, ומודים לו בברכת שהחיינו וקיימנו.
Tzitz Eliezer 9:2
Happy are they the worthy daughters of Israel, who chase after the mitzvot to take them upon themselves to fulfill them and recite berachot to God over this, as is permitted to them, and who thank Him with the beracha of she-hechiyanu ve-kiyemanu…
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