Women Reciting Blessings over Mitzvot

Question:
What’s the Rav’s opinion on women saying blessings on commandments which they are not obligated in, such as lulav?
 
Answer:
The opinion of Rabbenu Tam, Tosaphoth, Rosh and many other Rishonim z”l is that women who choose to perform a misswa from which they are exempt may recite the relevant B’rakha. I subscribe to this view. HaRav SY Kook z”l explained this view as follows: the B’rakha states that “we were commanded”, אשר קדשנו במצותיו וציונו, in the plural, referring to Klal Yisrael. Women are of course part of Klal Yisrael, and a woman reciting the B’rakha is describing the eternal relationship between HASHEM and His people as expressed in the Tora and Misswoth. It is a statement of objective reality, and there is no reason that a woman should not recite the B’rakha.
Scroll to Top