Wednesday, June 15, 2022

The Parameters of Kol Isha by Rabbi Chaim Jachter

 https://www.koltorah.org/halachah/the-parameters-of-kol-isha-by-rabbi-chaim-jachter

Rav Yaakov Breisch (Teshuvot Chelkat Yaakov 1:163), on the other hand, forbids a man to listen to a female voice on the radio. He reasons that the aforementioned Gemara in Sanhedrin 45a does not apply when there is some form of connection with the woman. He argues that a man’s Yetzer Hara is interested even if he only hears a woman’s voice. He rules strictly even in case where the listener is not acquainted with the singer. Rav Shmuel Wosner (Teshuvot Shevet Halevi 3:E.H.181 and Rav Binyamin Silber (Az Nidberu 9:9) also rule strictly on this question.


Observance of the Kol Isha prohibition is quite challenging for us as this prohibition runs counter to the prevailing Western culture. In today’s promiscuous society where outrageous behavior is deemed acceptable, a woman’s singing voice appears innocuous. Moreover, the general culture views this prohibition offensive and demeaning to women. We are challenged to hold firm to our beliefs against the flow of the general cultural tide. This is one of the issues that we must part company with the rest of society, just as Avraham Avinu and Yitzchak Avinu parted with their two servants on the road to Akeidat Yitzchak. Rav Yehuda Amital told me that we should strictly observe the Kol Isha prohibition today precisely because of the deterioration of the moral standards of western society.


8 comments:

  1. being strict about something needs a basis in halacha.
    There is no (as far as i am aware) mechanism of turning a regular prohibition into something to "die for", even when it is at your own hand. Rambam makes this clear, where one is not required to sacrifice one's life, such a person who does is guilty of bloodshed.

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  2. Wow a new rule you made up = the issue is not always being strict but whether to use a leniency

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  3. The Netziv closed down the volozhin yeshiva. Why didn't he opt for mass suicide? Well maybe because it's not in the texts.

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  4. In these kinds of issues, there's always the guy who will want to one-up the prior stringencies. So now if I'm listened to the radio and the person reading the news is a woman I'm supposed to change the station because I'll get sexually aroused? Who gets sexually aroused from hearing about the latest fatalities from CoVID or Ukraine? If that's what you're worried about, you need a psychiatrist, not a posek.

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  5. Because he didn't think like you

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  6. Ad hominem day?

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  7. This in fact has happend to Gur chassidim. Once, they were a respectable and moderate chassidic group, and they started going for more and more extreme behaviour and chumros. Even the austere misnagdim were shocked by their extremism. well, today they have gone the route of Satmar, split into 2 groups and now getting into violent conflicts with each other.

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