ואיהי מנלן דלא מיחייבה למילף נפשה? דכתיב ולימדתם ולמדתם, כל שאחרים מצווין ללמדו מצווה ללמד את עצמו, וכל שאין אחרים מצווין ללמדו אין מצווה ללמד את עצמו. ומנין שאין אחרים מצווין ללמדה? דאמר קרא ולמדתם אותם את בניכם ולא בנותיכם
From where do we know she doesn’t have to teach herself [Torah]? As it is written: “you shall teach” “you shall study”, anyone who others are commanded to teach is likewise commanded to teach oneself. Anyone that others are not commanded to teach is not obligated to teach oneself. How do we know others are not obligated to teach her? Because it says in the verse: “And you should teach your sons”, [sons] and not daughters.
(ו) אִשָּׁה שֶׁלָּמְדָה תּוֹרָה יֵשׁ לָהּ שָׂכָר, אֲבָל לֹא כִּשְׂכַר הָאִישׁ, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁאֵינָהּ מְצֻוָּה וְעוֹשָׂה. וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁיֵּשׁ לָהּ שָׂכָר, צִוּוּ חֲזַ''ל שֶׁלֹּא יְלַמֵּד אָדָם אֶת בִּתּוֹ תּוֹרָה, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁרֹב הַנָּשִׁים אֵין דַּעְתָּן מְכֻוֶּנֶת לְהִתְלַמֵּד, וּמוֹצִיאוֹת דִּבְרֵי תּוֹרָה לְדִבְרֵי הֲבַאי לְפִי עֲנִיּוּת דַּעְתָּן. אָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים: כָּל הַמְלַמֵּד אֶת בִּתּוֹ תּוֹרָה, כְּאִלּוּ מְלַמְּדָהּ תִּפְלוּת (פי' דְּבַר עֲבֵרָה). בַּמֶּה דְּבָרִים אֲמוּרִים בְּתוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה; אֲבָל תּוֹרָה שֶׁבִּכְתָב לֹא יְלַמֵּד אוֹתָהּ לְכַתְּחִלָּה, וְאִם מְלַמְּדָהּ אֵינוֹ כִּמְלַמְּדָהּ תִּפְלוּת (רַמְבַּ''ם וּסְמַ''ג וְלֹא כְּמִקְצָת סִפְרֵי הַטּוּר). הַגָּה: וּמִכָּל מָקוֹם חַיֶּבֶת הָאִשָּׁה לִלְמֹד דִּינִים הַשַּׁיָכִים לְאִשָּׁה. (אָגוּר בְּשֵׁם סְמַ''ג). וְאִשָּׁה אֵינָהּ חַיֶּבֶת לְלַמֵּד אֶת בְּנָהּ תּוֹרָה, וּמִכָּל מָקוֹם אִם עוֹזֶרֶת לִבְנָהּ אוֹ לְבַעֲלָהּ שֶׁיַּעַסְקוּ בַּתּוֹרָה, חוֹלֶקֶת שָׂכָר בַּהֲדַיְיהוּ. (הַגָּהוֹת מַיְמוֹנִי פֶּרֶק א' דְּתַלְמוּד תּוֹרָה וּסְמַ''ג).
(6) A woman who studied Torah receives a reward, but not like that of a man, because she is not obligated yet performs the commandment. And even though she earns a reward, our rabbis have commanded that one should not teach his daughter Torah, because the majority of women are not intellectual prepared to be taught, and remove words of Torah to words of emptiness due to their intellectual limitations. The rabbis said: One who teaches his daughter Torah is as if he taught her frivolity. When is this stated? In regard to the oral Torah. However, in regard to the written Torah one should preferably not teach her, but if he did so it is not comparable to frivolity. Rama: Nonetheless, a woman is obligated to study laws that are relevant to her. And a woman is not obligated to teach her son Torah. Nonetheless, if she assists her son or husband to study Torah, she receives reward along with them.
Dear Rabbi Rosenfeld, I acknowledge receipt of your letter. In my answer to your precious inquiry concerning the permissibility of instruction of girls in Talmud I stressed that unless I am assured in advance by the school administration that my recommendations will be followed I would not take the trouble to investigate the matter. Since such an official assurance has been withheld(your letter did not contain any such commitment) I must decline to consider the problem. The reason for my reluctance to engage in this controversial issue is the unique stand taken by many of our Jews on matters of Law and tradition. We have reached a stage at which party lines and political ideologies influence our halakhic thinking to the extent that people cannot rise above partisan issues to the level of Halakhah-objectivity. Some are in a perennial quest for "liberalization" of the Law and its subordination to the majority opinion of a political legislative body, while others would like to see the Halakhah fossilized and completely shout out of life. I am not inclined to give any of these factions an opportunity for nonsensical debates.
Sincerely yours,
Joseph Soloveitchik
Dear Rabbi Rosenfeld:
Please accept my apologies for not answering your letters sooner. The delay was due to my overcrowded schedule. As to your question with regard to a curriculum in a coeducational school, I expressed my opinion to you long ago that it would be a very regrettable oversight on our part if we were to arrange separate Hebrew courses for girls. Not only is the teaching of Torah she-be-al peh to girls permissible but it is nowadays an absolute imperative. This policy of discrimination between the sexes as to subject matter and method of instruction which is still advocated by certain groups within our Orthodox community has contributed greatly to the deterioration and downfall of traditional Judaism. Boys and girls alike should be introduced to the inner halls of Torah she-be-al peh.
I hope to prepare in the near future a halakhic brief on the same problem which will exhaust the various aspects of the same. In the meantime I heartily endorse a uniform program for the entire student body.
With kindest personal regards, I remain
Sincerely yours,
Joseph Soloveitchik