Jerusalem – Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, who is ultra-Orthodox, left a conference on child safety yesterday when a schoolgirls’ choir took to the stage. Many Haredi men refrain from being present when women sing.
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After learning that the 12-year-old girls were due to perform, Litzman who was a guest of honor, was said to have asked those sitting near him how he could leave the hall and saying that he had an important telephone call to make.
As soon as the choir finished its performance, Litzman returned to his seat.
Associates of the deputy health minister confirmed that he left the hall due to the choir’s performance. His office issued a statement saying it is Litzman’s practice not to be present when women sing and that no apology was necessary.
It’s time for the seculars and moderately religious to walk out when Litzman speaks. He walks out when women speak or sing. And, singing in a group is considered acceptable for women in front of men.
Beautiful. No one was insulted, it was done in a Bakovodik manner. Nice Kiddush Hashem
as long as did not demand that the girls do not sing, i do not see a problem since all knew he would do that. even if you things it is nuts
Does anyone know why this is only happening now? Litzman is walking out of something or another almost every day. What happened for the past 60 years?
Is ladies singing new? Is Litzman walking out new? Or has it always happened and no one has bothered to report it until now.
Rav Moshe Feinstein decreed that females in a group are okay. And a question for the 6 posters who were so certain Judith was wrong. Where can you document any Halachic justification for the new Shtus, invented in the past 20 years, of not showing pictures of woman’s faces?
The writer quotes!
Many Haredi men refrain from being present when women sing.
It’s wrong!
All Charedi men refrain from being present when women sing because a Charedi is someone who conducts his life according to Shulchan Aruch and that is an outright Issur in Even Hoezer siman 21
That’s fine. By walking out he indicated that he was not in agreement with what was being done. He did it respectfully and I’m sure came back in after the performance was over. Something to think about, right? Way to handle a tacky situation.
‘His office issued a statement saying it is Litzman’s practice not to be present when women sing and that no apology was necessary. ‘
agree! We have to respect his standards
Just in case many of you commentators, the Halacha clearly forbids men listening to women sing. It has nothing to do with being Chareidi. it has to do with being religious. Unbelievable the way people distort Halacha to suit their ideas of “equality” or “denegration of women”. The Halacha is the Halacha, like it or not.
Can’t any of you disagree with #1 without all the personal attacks and insults? The shitah quoted is a legitimate one.
What Judith might have failed to take into consideration is that there are other shitos and the Health (non)Minister obviously follows a different shita.
Frankly, the shoot from the hip, go for the throat nastiness of the comments on VIN seems to be getting worse and while I am not a posek or a talmid chochom, I have been zocheh to see and meet many of the gedolai yisrael of the previous generation and to learn from some of them. Based on my observations of their way of speaking and of inter-acting with other people I cannot imagine the RBS”O getting any nachas from the way we address each other here on VIN.
Can Someone Please Explain
1. Why is anything wrong with walking out since Halacha requires it?
2. Rabbi Litzman did not urge the choir not to sing since he will have to leave, even though as a high government official his sensitivities should be reckoned with.
3. even if for arguments sake Heteirim are out there, isn’t he allowed to be machmir. After all he is a religious representative, and is allowed and should be to be more stringent on himself!
Why can’t we give at least as much respect to a Jew who is following his beliefs as we would give to a Moslem who follows theirs.
As a more modern yid, I feel that this is a kiddush hashem. If in fact the story happened as it is told I find it very refreshing that through all of the growing tension between the chareidim and chilonim, especially in Israel, to see someone from the chareidi world being so sensitive to this group of girls is very nice.
Everyone here is talking about whether it is muttar or assur to hear women sing. But there is something else to consider. Let’s say that there are legitimate reasons for him not to hear them sing. But what about weighing this up against the bad feelings that this would cause, especially at a time of great tension between charedim and non-charedim?
This man should NOT be in such a postion. Let him sit and learn, if he can’t handle hearing small children singing.