What Can I Do?

Rabbi Riskin gave a shiur friday night that I went to with my roommate (who I brought to Efrat). The topic was women's positions in tefillah b'tzibor. He started with the statement that halacha is absolute, and there is no way to paskin against halacha. Someone may only be yotzie someone else if they have the exact same level of mechuyavness to do the mitzvah. As only an older then bar mitzvah male is mechuyav to davven with a minyan, only another older then bar mitzvah male may A shaliach tzibor's job is to davven for those who can not davven by themselves. (They are supposed to davven for Willie). Therefore a lady may not davven as the Sha"tz b/c she can not be yotzei a man. However, there are parts of davvening that no one is mechuyav to say, and in many only men davvening places children will be asked to say these parts. Those parts a lady may say, halachikly - however, she may not come up to bima to say it, as we have a mechitza for a reason. It would not be michubad for only the teffilot that a lady is saying to not be said at the bima. If all the shilichei tzibor davvened for the amud at their seats, as in a real sephardi minayn, then a lady may davven for the tzibor what she can say from her side of the mechitza by her seat. Also, this can not be done at random, but must follow the minhagim of the shul. Shul's can not change their davvening week by week, they must have a set order to their davvening. Therefore, for a bat mitzvah, or something special they can not have just that week ladies participating in the tefillah.

Don't worry, i'm not about to start davvening for the amud, I just thought I shouldn't be the only one who had to hear all that just b/c I needed to send dash cham to the Rabbi.

Dad, Rabbi Riskin says hi.