29 Oct WOMEN AND LEADERSHIP ROLES

Recently certain
kashrus agencies have
begun to offer courses
for women to make
them mashgichot.
These roles can be
either to visit certain
plants or to maintain
the kosher program in
a full time capacity in a
restaurant. Many times
women have high positions in certain jobs. Is
it permitted for women to vote? Can Jewish
women become an elected official? Can a
woman be on a shul board? All these and
other issues will be addressed in this issue.
Introduction
Whether a woman can be a mashgichot is
divided into two parts. 1. Can a woman hold
a job which has authority? 2. Can a woman
be believed that certain products are kosher
etc? We will begin to discuss the first aspect
of this issue first which has many variables
and then we will discuss the “believing” a
woman aspect.
Source
The Rambam says that a “We do not
appoint a woman as a king as it says in the
Torah “Appoint a kings” but not a queen.
In addition a woman may not be appointed
to nay leadership among the Jewish people.
Other Rishonim quote the Rambams opinion
as well. Some opine that this is an issur
d’rabbanan, while others maintain this is a
d’oraisa.
Reasons
There are a few reasons given why a woman
should not have an authoratiative job.
Some say it is because of tznius that a woman
should remain at home (this is not applicable
today since women are found on the streets).
Others say it is because a women is general
are more compassionate and will not be able
to do the job properly. While others say this
halacha is learnt out of a posuk (gezeiras
hakasov) and does not have a reason for it.
Devorah
The Rishonim are bothered with the question
how Devorah was a judge in klal yisroel if a
woman is not allowed to have a leadership
position. The Shulchan Aruch says that
a woman is not allowed to judge. Some
Rishonim hold that the fact that Devorah was
a queen was because she acted like a queen
but was not actually a queen. In addition, the
nation accepted her upon them to be judged
etc by her. Since the nation accepted her
and she was not forced on the people by a
Sanhedrin etc it is not considered “authority.”
This is considered “charismatic leadership.”
Harav Moshe Feinstein zt”l says Devorah was
so great that she automatically was the judge
in klal yisroel and there was no need to be
appointed.
During the period of the second Bais
Hamikdosh queen Shlomtzion ruled over
the Jewish people for nine years. However,

since she was elected as a queen the above
discussion does not apply.
Authority – Serara
According to the Rambam quoted above a
woman may not do any role of readership
not just refrain from being a queen. However,
the opinion of many Rishonim is not like
the above opinion of the Rambam and they
hold the leadership position which a woman
may not have is limited to a queen, but other
leadership positions would be permitted.
Nonetheless, Harav Moshe Feinstein zt”l
maintains that although the Rambam’s view
is not accepted by most Rishonim, one should
follow his opinion. However, in case of
need one would be able to rely on the other
Rishonim (see below).
What is Considered Authority
We have mentioned above that a woman is
not allowed to have a leadership position;
however, what is considered having
leadership or authority?
Harav Moshe Feinstein zt”l maintains that
if one has a job which makes someone
have power over his employer then this is
considered authority. This can be called
“discretionary power.” In other words he is
a decision maker on his own. He says this is
common in kashrus, where a mashgiach is
hired by an owner and he tells him what to
do even if the owner does not want to serve
kosher etc. and to make sure that everything
runs smooth.A regular worker is hired to act
according to the will of his employer. One
who has to answer to people on top of him, is
not considered authority.
In a teshuva regarding a ger being a Rosh
Yeshiva or Mashgiach Ruchni in a Yeshiva,
Harav Moshe Feinstein zt”l says although a
ger should not be appointed to a serara – have
authority, a Rosh Yeshiva and Mashgiach can
tell boy to leave the Yeshiva but this is just
doing there job and not considered having an
authoritative position.
Some poskim are of the opinion that the
above halacha does not apply to being having
authority over women. For example, being
in charge and having authority of women’s
tzedaka, schools etc.
One of the Rishonim say that if a woman is
more eligible for a specific job than a man
then the halacha of a woman not having a job
of authority does not apply.
There are those who say authority is only if
it is a job which is everlasting (till the person
dies) but if it is for a specific amount of time
then it is not considered authority.
Being a Mashgicha (Woman Mashgiach)
As mentioned above it has become common
for some kashrus agencies to train women
to become a mashgicha. In practice some
agencies use women as mashgichot in food
service establishments. We stated above
that being a mashgiach is a job which has
authority and accordingly a woman should
not be a mashgicha. Harav Moshe Feinstein

zt”l said in a case of need one can rely on
those who argue with the Rambam. Others
say that Harav Moshe Feinstein’s teshuva was
written for a specific case and should not be
relied upon as a clear heter and allow women
to be a mashgicha. Nonetheless, the custom is
to be lenient. Harav Moshe Feinstein zt”l says
one who wishes to go in accordance even with
the Rambam then the kashrus agency should
arrange that she is paid by the kashrus agency
and not by the store etc as mentioned above.
If this is done it is permitted even according
to the Rambam. This is the opinion of Harav
Yisroel Belsky Shlita and Harav Herschel
Shachter Shlita as well.
One who takes a job as a mashgicha should be
careful if an issue of yichud arises (see below
in the section regarding believing woman).
In any case even a woman who bosses
workers around as a mashgicha in a restaurant
would be more of an issue then a woman who
visits plants to make sure the kosher program
is running smoothly.
Voting and Being Elected
When one votes one is demonstrating that he
wants a specific person to win and he has a
say because the majority of votes wins. There
are many teshuvos written which discuss if
women should vote and if a woman should be
an elected official.
Some wish to say that based on the above
Rambam that a woman should not vote or be
elected, because it is giving a woman job with
authority. (However, many argue with the
Rambam and therefore, if there is a need his
opinion does not have to be followed). Other
reasons are offered as will be listed below:
In earlier years women did not have public
roles and were not out in the streets so women
should follow with this. To be involved
with politics involves open discussions with
men etc and this is not fitting for a woman.
In Judaism the family is very important and
if politics are mixed into it then she will
be jeopardizing her family. If a woman is
involved in politics then it may cause friction
in shalom bayis since she may have different
views then her husband. According to this
voting would be permitted if the opinion is
not discussed who she voted for.
Many poskim both in Eretz Yisroel and in
America did not allow women to vote or to
be elected officials holding a public position
in the government. Such Rabbonim included
Harav Yehoshua Leib Diskin zt”l, Harav
Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld zt”l, Harav Yecheil
Michel Tukishinsky zt”l, Harav Yitzchok
Hakohen Kook zt”l and others.
Those who Permitted Voting and being
Elected
There were Rabbonim who permitted women
to vote and be elected officials. Included
are Harav Tzvi Pesach Frank zt’l, Harav
Elimelech Turk, and Harav Bakshei Doron
Shlita.
Reasons to Permit
One of the reasons to permit women to vote

is that if they would not vote then the Jews
would not have a say in Eretz Yisroel.
One of the main reasons for not letting a
woman vote or be an elected official is because
it is considered authority. However, being
elected does not fall into this category as will
be explained: Many poskim disagree with the
Rambam and hold a woman may only not
have a position of a queen but other positions
are permitted. In addition if one is elected as
an official by people and is not forced upon
them unwillingly then this is not considered
“authority” and a woman is permitted to have
such a position. This is considered like the
woman is like our messenger. Furthermore,
when a woman is elected to a position in the
Knesset etc she has people over her for whom
she has to answer to. In addition, Harav
Moshe Feinstein zt”l says we do not have to
involve our selves with the Israel Government
who are kofrim if they wish to elect a woman
for the Prime Minister.
One of the reasons mentioned above not
to allow women to vote is because it is not
modest. However, when one votes she goes
into a booth and pushes the name of the
person she wants to vote for and there is no
lack of modesty in doing so.
The claim that voting is a lack of shalom
bayis can be refuted by the husband and wife
not talking about their political views.
Women as a Shul President – Shul Board
Based on the Rambam mentioned above, one
may say that a woman should not be a shul
president because it is a job of authority, and
being on the shul board as well would be an
issue. However, some say that this is not so
since even according to the Rambam if one is
elected as a shul president or to be on the shul
board it is not considered authority. Especially
since the above positions still have to answer
up to the board in general before making
decisions. Harav Moshe Feinstein zt”l says
that being a shul president should not be done
because this is considered authority. In any
case, since this may be a sticky issue when it
arises one should consult with his Rav.
A Woman Posek – Rabbi
Some women have questioned if they are
allowed to learn a certain subject and give their
opinions on the matter to women. The halacha
is very clear that a woman is not allowed
to be a judge. The Birchei Yosef is of the
opinion that although a woman is not allowed
to judge, if a woman who knows a certain

subject in Jewish law is
able to pasken she can
do so. This was done
in some places in part
because women do not
feel comfortable asking
men their question
relating to hilchos
niddah. However, in
practice woman who
does this are only
advisors, and not “Rabbis.” The subject of
whether a woman is allowed to be a Rabbi
was discussed in many journals and articles
other the years. We will not decide this issue.
The Gemorah in a couple of places warns
agains one who issues halachic rulings and is
not qualified to do so.
Believing a Woman
In the onset of this issue we stating that
there are two issues with a woman being a
mashgiacha, one was a position of authoirty
which we dealt with above. The other issue is
whether or not we can believe a woman in the
field of kashrus (and other areas). This will be
discussed below.
Woman as a Witness
The Gemorah in Bava Kama states that a
woman can not be a witness. This is codified
in Shulchan Aruch as well.

Women and Issurim
A woman is believed when it comes it issurim.
This is leanrt from the fact that a woman can
count the days of purity.
Tosfas says that we can rely on the shechitah
of a woman, even though women generally
don’t know the laws of shechitah, because
this woman could have learned the halachos
of shechitah or hired someone to do the
shechitah. In other words as long as it is
b’yadah (in her control) of a woman to insure
that things are done properly, so halachically,
we can believe her testimony.
According to this as long as it was under her
control to make sure it is kosher, we can rely
on her. Even if she didn’t actually prepare the
food but oversaw it’s production and has the
final say in whether it can be served, that is
also considered b’yadah.
In addition, “b’yadah” is only required in
a case of ischazek issura which means we
know that an issur exists (such as in the case
of shechitah where we know that at one point
the meat was assur – i.e. when the animal was
alive). If it is not ischazek issura then even if it
is not b’yadah she is believed. An example of
this is whether a fish is kosher or non-kosher.
Most of the happenings in a kosher facility
under the category of not being isschazek
issura. There is a fear of buying non-kosher

and therefore, there is no reason to assume
that the rest of the food there is not kosher.
Therefore, Harav Moshe Feinstein zt”l says
that a woman can be a mashicha (if she knows
what she is doing) even if it is not in her hands
control the place she is inspecting and even if
the owner of the restaurant was not religious.
According to all of this it would seem that
there is no problem in having a female
mashgicha. However, there may a potential
problem as noted below.
The Gemara says that women are believed
to say that they did bedikas chometz because
bedikas chometz is only a Rabbinic statute.
This would imply that their testimony is not
believed when the issue is a Torah statute.
This would then contradict what Tosfas
(cited above) said regarding shechitah. Tosfas
answers that when there is a lot of effort
involved in insuring the kashrus of something
then women are only believed if the issue is
Rabbinic. There are poskim who say that the
custom is to be lenient even if it is something
which requires extra work. The Aruch
Hashulchan says “women are not lenient
with issurim because it involves work; we see
that they are very busy with any issur. Items
which are known to be issur even if it is a lot
of work they will check to make sure the issur
is clean (ie, checking vegetales from insects).
In our days we never heard even on the most

righteous tzadikim that they did not rely on
their wives for the kashrus of insects (etc).”
Based on the above, there would be no issue
with a woman being a mashgicha even if
there is a lot of work involved. Although
some poskim maintain that if the restaurant
is run by someone who is not religious and is
known to be very lax with kashrus standards,
then it is not recommended to have a female
mashgicha because it takes great effort to
make sure that everything is running properly.
In addition, some say since a mashgiach has
to go to places in a facility where there may
be an issue of yichud it is not a practical
idea. Furthermore, woman never served as
mashgichos so we should not start a new
“custom.” However, as mentioned above
this is not the overwhelming custom in many
places.