תשובת המהרי"ל בעניין התעטפות נשים בטלית: הדרה או האדרה של נשים

The question of whether women are halakhically allowed to fulfill the commandment of wearing tzitzit has been debated in recent decades, mainly because of the rise of egalitarian minyanim and the ongoing controversy regarding the “Women of the Wall” prayers at the Western Wall, where women wrap themselves in a tallit. The halakhic authorities who prohibit women from wearing tzitzit rely on the ruling of the great Ashkenazi Rabbi of the 14th century, the Maharil (Rabbi Yaakov Levi Moelin). This paper examines the reasoning behind the Maharil’s adoption of a stricter approach, one that had not been previously mentioned in halakhic literature. Contrary to the common interpretation that views the Maharil’s ruling as anti-feminine, which in practice, and perhaps even on principle, excludes women and pushes them out of the religious public sphere, this paper proposes an alternative reading, one that analyzes the Maharil’s ruling as pro-feminine, reflecting appreciation and respect for women’s halakhic community and the traditions and customs of Jewish women.