a woman,a"tallit,"&Rav Soloveitchik's alleged trap
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Shira Salamone said...
i've read this story about Rav (Rabbi Joseph) Soloveitchik b4 on other blogs ( & also in a comment on my own blog--see link below), & i'm inclined 2 agree with those who've theorized that just about anything that that would-be tallit-wearer might have said could have been used against her. if she had insisted on wearing a real tallit--that is, a tallit (prayer shawl) with tzitzit (ritual fringes) on the 4 corners, as required by the torah/bible--Rav Soleveitchik could just as easily have chastised her for challenging his rabbinic authority. (the end of the story, as i've read it, is that Rav Soleveitchik forbade the woman 2 wear a tallit on the grounds that her motive was something other than to fulfill the mitzvah of wearing tzitzit.)
"The mitzvot aren't given for us to find what we perceive, usually erroneously, as our spiritual needs. they are to cultivate a mindset of servitude to God."
What good did the proper motivation do 4 this young lady, who simply wished 2 use "G-d-given prayer aids?"
"b'tokh she'lo lishma, ba lishma. I call that wishful thinking."
i don't, & 4 good reason. i began wearing a tallit because i was a member of an egalitarian synagogue, & figured that equal rights came with equal responsibilities. i continued 2 wear a tallit after we moved & joined a non-egalitarian synagogue because it didn't seem right 2 stop wearing 1 after having worn 1 for over 10 yrs. now, i wear a tallit because the torah tells the children of israel 2 see the fringe & remember all HaShem's commandments. if i hadn't started wearing a tallit 4 the "wrong" reason, i would not now b wearing a tallit 4 the only reason that u consider right.
maybe we should all take a hint from the folks doing kiruv (attempting 2 persuade non-orthodox jews 2 become orthodox)--stop asking why a person performs a mitzvah (fulfills the requirement[s] of a commandment), & just b happy that they do.
Don't b so quick 2 write us off. "B'tokh she'lo lishma, ba lishma."
pls pardon poor typing--2 broken wrists
Shira Salamone said... i've read this story about Rav (Rabbi Joseph) Soloveitchik b4 on other blogs ( & also in a comment on my own blog--see link below), & i'm inclined 2 agree with those who've theorized that just about anything that that would-be tallit-wearer might have said could have been used against her. if she had insisted on wearing a real tallit--that is, a tallit (prayer shawl) with tzitzit (ritual fringes) on the 4 corners, as required by the torah/bible--Rav Soleveitchik could just as easily have chastised her for challenging his rabbinic authority. (the end of the story, as i've read it, is that Rav Soleveitchik forbade the woman 2 wear a tallit on the grounds that her motive was something other than to fulfill the mitzvah of wearing tzitzit.)
"The mitzvot aren't given for us to find what we perceive, usually erroneously, as our spiritual needs. they are to cultivate a mindset of servitude to God."
What good did the proper motivation do 4 this young lady, who simply wished 2 use "G-d-given prayer aids?"
"b'tokh she'lo lishma, ba lishma. I call that wishful thinking."
i don't, & 4 good reason. i began wearing a tallit because i was a member of an egalitarian synagogue, & figured that equal rights came with equal responsibilities. i continued 2 wear a tallit after we moved & joined a non-egalitarian synagogue because it didn't seem right 2 stop wearing 1 after having worn 1 for over 10 yrs. now, i wear a tallit because the torah tells the children of israel 2 see the fringe & remember all HaShem's commandments. if i hadn't started wearing a tallit 4 the "wrong" reason, i would not now b wearing a tallit 4 the only reason that u consider right.
maybe we should all take a hint from the folks doing kiruv (attempting 2 persuade non-orthodox jews 2 become orthodox)--stop asking why a person performs a mitzvah (fulfills the requirement[s] of a commandment), & just b happy that they do.
Don't b so quick 2 write us off. "B'tokh she'lo lishma, ba lishma."
pls pardon poor typing--2 broken wrists
posted by Shira Salamone at 3:28 PM
. . . don't b so quick 2 write us off. isn't there a saying in rabbinic literature that a person who begins observing a mitzvah 4 what some may consider the wrong reason may eventually come 2 observe it 4 the right 1?
You are thinking of b'tokh she'lo lishma, ba lishma. I call that wishful thinking.
. . .
There's a story told about Rav Soloveitchik that a woman kept asking him if she could wear a tallit. he said, "try wearing it for a month without tzitzit." She came back after a month and said "Rabbi, this was wonderful, I felt so spiritual." I don't recall his precise rebuttal, but it was something along the lines of "since the four-cornered garment you wore wasn't really a tallit since it didn't have tzitzit, clearly, this was something going on in your own head totally unconnected to the mitzvah."
The mitzvot aren't given for us to find what we perceive, usually erroneously, as our spiritual needs. they are to cultivate a mindset of servitude to God. Of recognizing that He's the boss, (or Boss) not Tony Danza. Or us. (pardon the '80s pop culture reference). We don't wear tallitot to feel spiritual. We do it because He commanded us to do so, in order to remember the mitzvot.
. . .