20 July 2005 (Wednesday)
for women, by men
Go read this excellent review by ADDeRabbi on the new Artscroll "women's siddur."
I think that siddur makes me want to punch someone in the head.
Probably Nosson Sherman.
Ari B. - Have you read the comments, specifically pertainign to women's zimmun? Given an earlier conversation, I can't tell whether we should get your sister to read that or not. I'm leaning toward yes.
So what I want to know, is does it say "shelo asani eved" or "shelo asani shifcha"? (Did I get that right?)
I've always figured, based on "shelo asani ishah" that it's not a forgone conclusion that I had to be made a female whatever, so I can say "shelo asani goy/eved" without worrying about gender (of the words, don't jump down my throat, Shanna) since as a Jewish free woman I have more mitzvos than even a male non-Jew or male servant. But I did see a siddur once that changed all three of those brochos for women, not just "shelo asani ishah."
I would comment over at ADDeRabbi, but I'd just get lost among the 100 or so other comments. But I've answered a women's zimmun before, many many times, seen both a woman saying Birchas HaGomel herself and having a man say it on her behalf, and seen women stopped from saying Kaddish. (At the time, I thought the rebetzin was out of line for trying to stop them during Kaddish... definitely not a Kiddush Hash-m!) But I'm not in the market for a women's siddur, especially after reading that review.
I have no idea what that siddur says, but in my own davening I say "goya" and "shifcha." And I have considered "shelo asani ish" (there is evidence of at leat one siddur from the 1500s, I think, with that bracha) but for now I prefer "sheasani kirtzono."
I've never understood why we can't put all of those in the positive. "thanks for making me a woman", "thanks for making me a man", ... Why not be happy with what we have without putting anyone down?
