Rashi DH "Ho Noshim Meakvim" says that the reason we do not allow women to blow shofar is because they would be 'over Bal Tosif'. May friend Mark asked that it is well known that Rashi's daughters wore tefillin. Did Rashi's daughter argue and say this is not called 'Bal Tosif'?!
I told him I will let him know your answer.
Thank you,
alex lebovits, toronto, canada
Below is a copy of what the Kollel wrote about this in response to an question submitted a while back.
Best wishes,
Kollel Iyun Hadaf
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I am not aware of any clear source which says that Rashi's daughters in fact wore Tefilin. It is not surprising, however, that such a legend would be told specifically about Rashi's daughters, as they did spend a lot of their time with their father acting as his scribes, writing down his Halachic and Talmudic responses which he dictated. (He did not have any sons, and his wife seems to have died young). Being that they dictated his responses, they also came to acquire a knowledge of Torah which was quite rare for women of their time. It seems to me that this is how the legend sprung up.
Even if there is a credible source which alludes to such behavior, the context of the remark would have to be studied to ascertain that it was not merely intended to express the fact that Rashi's daughters constantly engaged in learning Torah with their father, which men often did while wearing Tefilin. Until I see a source whose content clearly confirms that they indeed did wear Tefilin, I do not really think that it is a question worthy of discussing at length.
Respectfully,
Yaakov Montrose (Author of the Rashi Study Guide, Destiny Foundation 2005)
See tos r"h 33a DH ha r' yehuda ha r' yosi. by the way, what about michal bas shaul ????
I don't think there is any question here (even assuming that Rashi doesn't disagree with the rest of the Rishonim that women did Mitzvos Asai SHehazman G'rama. Whether or not they put on T'Filin doesn't make a difference, since they probably took a Luluv or wen to Shul to hear the Shofar.)
Rashi is explaining the Shita of R' Yehuda. We Paskin like R' Yosi that holds they're allowed to do the Mitzvos. So Rashi's daughters (and the rest of Klal Yisrael for that matter) does like R' Yosi.
Chaim Smulowitz
I once asked a different question about how were Rashi's daghters allowed to wear Tefillin when Targum Yonasan says that you aren't allowed to wear Tallis & Tefilin because it is Lo Silbash. A women's not allowed to wear a man's clothes.
1) I was merely addressing the aspect of Rashi's daughters supposedly having worn Tefilin (the above answer was in fact addressed to a specific question regarding Rashi's daughters wearing Tefilin and due to editing appeared as an answer to the question above), for which I have never seen a credible source (if someone has, I would love to see it).
2) Of course, Chaim Smulowitz is correct when he says the actual question is easily answered. In any event, the above answer still shows that the question did not exist in the first place.
3) Taking the above into account, we can also explain that Michal Bas Shaul did not transgress Lo Silbash because she held like the opinions which state that women could possibly wear Tefilin, and they are therefore was not considered a man's garment (unlike the Targum Yonasan, see Tosfos in Rosh Hashanah 33a, DH "Ha R' Yehuda" and Eiruvin 85).
All the best,
Yaakov Montrose