Chabad & "SheLo Asani Isha" and the Siddur

TzenaRena

Sun, Jul 17 2005, 4:06 am

About the brocho she'asani k'rtzono, in the Sidddur Rabbenu HaZaken with notes, sources and commentary by Rabbi Levi Y. Raskin of London(Kehot 2004) he gives a complete history of this brocho on page 18. Some points:(free translation)

He brings down the ARSA( Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch) "which they are accustomed to say the brocho 'she'asani k'retzono', that is as one who justifies the judgement for bad upon him", which is like the phraseology of the Levush(Par. or ch.? 5)and so is written in Avudraham.

However the Pri Chodosh(chpt.4) holds that they should not say this brocho at all. The ChIDA and others hold that they should say this brocho without the Divine Name and Malchus.(brought in Kaf HaChaim ,Orach Chaim os 41). And so it is in the Siddur of R.Yaakov Emdin he wrote the nusach of the brocho " Baruch She'asani K'rtzono". See at length in the responsa of Yechave Daas(Section 4, ch. 4).

Last edited by TzenaRena on Tue, Jan 17 2006, 7:13 am; edited 1 time in total

TzenaRena

Sun, Jul 17 2005, 4:47 am

Concerning what is the minhag Chabad about this, see Igros Kodesh of the Rebbe vol.20, pg 63( from 5722):
similar to the brocho of the women and its nusach*( in the morning blessings) - he should clarify by the women of Anash who have a tradition conerning this.
* it would appear to refer to the question of whether to say it with or without shem umalchus.

In a letter from the Gaon Rav Zalman Shimon Dworkin,(from the yr.5739 - printed in Kovetz Yagdil Torah NY vol.30):

"the minhag of the women is to skip this brocho, and the reason is since the Rebbe whose neshomo is on high - (the Alter Rebbe)didn't write anything in his Siddur. However, there are amongst us women who say She'asani K'rtzono. At any rate, (for a woman)to say "shelo asani isha" is completely forbidden."

(The discussion was whether women say shelo asani Eved ( which is a male servant) or change it to say shelo asani shifcha, a maidservant. Since the minhag is to say that brocho the same as the men, one might question whether to say the brocho shelo asani isha without any change either, to which the answer is unequivocally no.)

subsequent issues of Kovetz Yagdil Torah that dealt with this topic are vol. 33, ch.50, 34 ch. 86, 36 ch. 156.

Blossom

Tue, Mar 21 2006, 1:35 am

Quote:

thus, I have no problem with the fact that the world was created 'for MAN' and that men say shelo asani isha, and all that women's lib jib...

Really the Shelo Asani Isha is a praise for the women. Since the men cannot fathom how we deal with periods, pregnancy and childbirth, and they think that they would never be able to go thru all this thus they thank Hashem that they don't have to.

I read a very clarifying explanation which I can't exactly remember where and of course cannot dictate it as beautifully as I read it but here it is basically.
First we say the beracha of Shelo ASani [gentile] which both the women and men say. Then comes the Beracha of Shelo asani Isha which only the men say. The reason is because The non jews have only 7 mitzvohs and therefore both yiddishe women and men thank Hashem that he gave us more mitzvahs. Then comes Shelo Asani Isha which the men say, since the women have less mitzvas than men - The Z'man Geramah mitzvos and such.
Rotzo HKB"H Lezakos Es Yisroes, Lefikuch Hirbah L'hem Torah U'mitzohs. Thus the more mitzvahs Hashem has given you the more you praise him for not giving you less.

ShiraMiri

Tue, Mar 21 2006, 11:01 am

Those are interesting explainations. Thanks for sharing them! I also heard that since women come into the world without needing to be altered (bris) and the feminine neshama is more alligned with Hashem, that we thank Hashem for making us according to his will. The men thank Hashem for the not making them women and having to work harder to achieve that perfection/closeness, because through that work (study of torah) they can achieve a closeness and perfection beyond their dreams and earn a place in olam haba for themselves and their wives.

Mandy

Wed, Mar 22 2006, 12:37 am

Quote:

Then we should really see a bracha from the yisroel who thanks Hashem that he is not a cohen, being that the job of a cohen is harder. And the nonJew should be obligated to thank G-d that he was not born Jewish, being that he wouldn't be able to deal with all the difficulties that come with it, right ?

Quote:

Thus the more mitzvahs Hashem has given you the more you praise him for not giving you less

Then we should really see a bracha from the cohen who thanks Hashem for not making him a yisroel, who has less mitzvos.

Blossom

Wed, Mar 22 2006, 1:06 am

My point was that this berachah is looked at from very negative angles and really it should be seen as a praise to us women.

If you don't want to take it that way, you really don't have to. I'm not forcing my religion on anyone Wink

but just a different perspective on what many take as an insult.

TzenaRena

Wed, Mar 22 2006, 1:32 am

along the lines of what Blossom is saying, we learn in Chassidus that Ratzon is higher than all the sefiros, and spiritual worlds, she asani k'rtzono could reflect the idea of the woman being when Moshiach comes "aishes chayil ateres baaloh- the crown of her husband", since the crown is above and encompasses the head, it will be davka the women who will be on a superior level of receiving G-dly revelation of the level of 'makif'.

Ratzon is one of the levels within Kesser, and since "hu ur'tzoino echad" He and His Ratzon are one, it is the source of the highest G-dly Revelation higher than (the spiritual) Worlds and Order of Creation.

That now she says a brocho that is "matzdik the din" and thanks Hashem as one who "blesses for the bad as well as the good", is actually only a "yerida tzoirech aliyah" a temporary descent for the purpose of ascent, to the highest state of G-dly connection in the future, the times of Moshiach, superior to that of the men.

as in the descent of the Neshama on earth for the purpose of refining and perfecting the Guf and Animal Soul, (and its worldly environment) in order to ascend higher than before it came down.

and perhaps for this very reason, the minhag in Beis HaRav, and the nusach of the Alter Rebbe's siddur was not to say this brocho, because the future revelation of this inner essence of the woman is there in potential already now.

Crayon210

Wed, Mar 22 2006, 11:08 am

Mandy wrote:

Quote:

You're comparing a man thanking Hashem for not giving him physical challenges that would prevent him from doing mitzvos to a Yisroel or l'havdil a non-Jew thanking Hashem for not giving him spiritual opportunities? Hardly an analogy.

Mandy wrote:

Then we should really see a bracha from the cohen who thanks Hashem for not making him a yisroel, who has less mitzvos.

There practically had to be some kind of cut-off...

"Thank You for not making me single, so I can do the mitzvos of marriage."

"Thank You for not making me a businessman, so I can keep the agricultural mitzvos."

"Thank You for not making me a farmer, so I can keep the mitzvos of business."

Rolling Eyes

Motek

Sun, Apr 02 2006, 4:29 pm

I've copied the following from somewhere else:

Quote:

I recently saw a letter to the editor in Commentary Magazine by (I
believe) Rabbi Mottel Twerski, in which he speaks of women's souls being
superior to those of men ...
As far as I can tell, this is a doctrine, or apologetics, that is no
more than twenty years old.

Quote:

I tended to agree with the above until I heard Rav Yechiel Yaakovson of
Zichron Yaakov make similar remarks in the name of R. Chaim Vital (who
lived hundreds of years ago, long before suffrage or feminist movements
were heard from).

I have yet to see R. Chaim Vital's words "inside", but the following is
the gist of R. Yaakovson's remarks:

According to R. Chaim Vital, the blessing that a woman makes (sh'asah li
kirtzono - Who made me in accordance with His Will) echoes the words of
the kaddish (b'alma divrah kir'utei -- in the world that He created in
accordance with His Will). Woman, who enjoys a more serene, spiritual
nature, was created more perfectly, more in accordance with the ultimate
Divine Will. Man's given nature is coarser, more spiritually flawed;
therefore, he requires the spiritual regimen of Torah study and an
abundance of mitzvot as a "tikkun".

betshy

Sun, Feb 11 2007, 3:48 pm

Nuschaos Hatefilah are holy and sacred and shouldn't be up for discussion. Certainly not by women who have no or very little information and are basing opiniions on emotions.
Please, let each kehila say their nussach, by the way the 12 shevatim served Hashem individually so there's nothing wrong with different nuscho'os. Let's respect our great sages and the work they did.

greenfire

Sun, Feb 11 2007, 4:59 pm

betshy wrote:

Obviously it is up for discussion that is why it is here!

I know a number of people who are not chabad and daven nusach HaAri Z"l in a different type of siddur.

I appreciate the intellect especially motek - thanks - but it still doesn't make me fully satisfied. Also - what about gerim and the she'lo asani [gentile] - it annoys me as well - more input please