20 Jul KOL ISHAH FOR ZEMIROS ON SHABBOS

And Miriam the
prophetess, the sister
of Aharon, took the
drum in her hand,
and all of the women
followed her with
drums and dances.

Shemos 15:20
Introduction
Singing Shabbos zemiros is a special activity
that many Jewish families engage in that
allows them to bond through song and unite in
praising Hashem.
Among different groups of religious Jews,
there are divergent practices as to how the
zemiros are sung when there are non-family
members present. For example, the daughters
of Rav Pinchas Mordechai Teitz report that
their custom, based on the practice of Rav
Preil (Rav Teitz’s father-in-law), was that
everyone at the table, including women,
would sing zemiros, whether they were related
or not. This practice seemed foreign to many
of the Eastern European gedolim who would
eat at their table on their visits to America. In
many other communities, women or daughters
above a certain age refrain from singing along
unless everyone at the table is an immediate

relative. Is one of these practices more
preferable?
Furthermore, if one who has the practice not
to participate in zemiros together with women
finds himself at a Shabbos table where they
are singing together, what is the appropriate
response?
The Source
Chazal (Berachos 24a) teach that “Kol b’ishah
ervah,” a woman’s singing voice is considered
to be a form of nakedness. This concept
precludes one from reciting krias Shema in the
presence of a singing woman (Shulchan
Aruch, OC 75).
The Gemara in Sotah (48a) teaches:
Rav Yosef said: When men sing and women
respond, it is an expression of immodesty.
When women sing and men respond, it is like
fire among flax [i.e., extremely dangerous].
What is the practical implication of this? To
prioritize annulling the latter (women singing
and men responding) before the former (men
singing and women responding).
Rashi (s.v. k’eish) explains that when the men
are leading the song and the women are
answering, it is problematic because the men
will be listening to the women’s singing in the

periphery. However, when the women are
leading the song, it is worse, since the men
have to pay very close attention in order to
know what and when to respond.
It is clear from the Gemara that listening to a
woman sing is a serious halachic problem
even if it is a group of women.
Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank (Har Tzvi, EH 71)
indeed concludes that there is no difference
between a group of women singing and an
individual woman, citing this Gemara as
proof.
In Shul
The Chasam Sofer (5:190) discusses the case
of a shul in which women would sing along
with the men and their voices were audible in
the men’s section. He rules that this is
problematic, even though they are engaged in
a dvar mitzvah and the men are singing along
with the group of women. He adds that it will
serve to ruin the men’s kavanah and cause the
tefillos to be rejected.
Zemiros
The Be’er Sheva (Be’er Mayim Chayim 3)
writes that singing zemiros in a co-ed
environment, especially if some of the women
are married, ignores the fact that this mitzvah
leads to aveiros, and it is a very objectionable
practice. The Tzitz Eliezer (7:28) similarly
rules that a man who was offered a job to
recite Kiddush for a large group of girls
should not accept the offer if he will have to
be in the room when the girls are singing
zemiros.
The Seridei Eish
Considering the above words of such
important poskim who strongly reject the
practice, how is it that many great rabbanim
permitted co-ed zemiros in youth groups
and in their own homes?
The source for leniency in this matter
generally begins with Rav Yechiel Yaakov
Weinberg, the Seridei Eish, who wrote a
famous teshuvah regarding a French youth
group called Yeshurun, which was similar to
an NCSY kiruv organization in its time. He
offers three main reasons to permit the boys
and the girls to sing together.
1. There is a concept of “trei kolei lo
mishtamei” – two concurrent voices (or
sounds) cannot be properly heard. If the
entire problem of kol ishah is that one will
focus on the source of the singing, kol ishah
becomes less of an issue when a group is
singing, as it is difficult to discern the
precise voice that one is hearing.
2. When singing shirei kodesh, there is less
of a concern that the singing will lead to
improper thoughts or behaviors, due to the
holiness of the content.
3. Perhaps the shirei kodesh themselves will
cause the participants to concentrate on the
meaning of the words, and it will allow

them to maintain an air of seriousness and
spirituality and to ignore any possible
negatives that the kol ishah might cause.
Rav Weinberg adds that there is an additional
concept called “Eis la’asos LaHashem hefeiru
Torasecha.” When there is a threat to the entire
Torah, there is the possibility (under the
guidance of great Torah leaders) to
compromise on certain halachos with the
cheshbon that doing so will lead to greater
Torah observance. He points out that youth
groups run by experts in kiruv and education
have determined that singing is one of the
most effective ways to give children and
teenagers a meaningful and positive Shabbos
and religious experience, and it is essential to
promoting a generally positive view of Torah
and mitzvos.
Rav Weingberg points out that both Rav
Shimshon Raphael Hirsch and Rav Ezriel
Hildesheimer permitted men and women to
sing zemiros together at the Shabbos table.
Although his background (the Lithuanian
yeshivos) never would have tolerated such a
practice, this was the accepted minhag in
Germany and was effective for their
communities.
He attempts to prove his ruling based on a
pasuk in Shoftim (5:1) describing the Song of
Devorah together with Barak ben Avinoam.
Opposition to the Seridei Eish
Those who criticize the Seridei Eish’s ruling
point out that the concept of trei kolei lo
mishtamei is specifically not relevant to the
Gemara’s discussion, as noted by the Har
Tzvi. The concept of not hearing two voices
together relates to the focus on the individual,
not a lack of effectiveness of the sound. Thus,
it is possible that multiple voices might make
the violation of kol ishah even worse, as the
multiple voices might produce an even more
pleasing sound.
Conclusion
Although the question requires much more
elaboration and explanation, it is clear that
there are great gedolei Torah on both sides of
this issue. It seems that while in Eastern
Europe this practice was unheard of, in
Western Europe it was fairly common, even
among very religious families. Therefore, if
one finds himself at a table where the women
are singing along with the men, he should not
protest or give indications of his disapproval.
When deciding what to do in one’s own
household, it is clear that the majority of
poskim, including Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv
and Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, rule
stringently that women should not sing
zemiros or shirei kodesh together with men.
As with all chinuch decisions in one’s home, a
fair amount of common sense needs to be
balanced with a knowledge of the halacha.