Women Talking Mitzvot

This episode begins with an exploration of the obligation to recite birkat ha-mazon after eating bread and what that means for us. Next, we discuss the halachic parameters of starting benching off with a ‘zimmun’--for men and women.

This episode has been sponsored in gratitude to the Women Talking Mitzvot podcast and its hosts by the Buchman Community in Modiin.

Women’s Zimmun Card:

Women's Zimmun Card • Deracheha 

Deracheha articles:

https://www.deracheha.org/birkat-ha-mazon/

https://www.deracheha.org/zimmun-part-1/

https://www.deracheha.org/zimmun-part-2/

Link to article on the origins of the bentching tune:

https://www.jta.org/2018/01/17/ny/legends-of-jewish-music-remembered

This episode discusses the halachik issues related to applying makeup and other cosmetic products on Shabbat. This topic has a direct impact on the lives of so many people and touches on sensitive issues such as self image, communal beauty norms, and the role halacha plays in our personal lives.

Deracheha articles:

https://www.deracheha.org/cosmetics-on-shabbat-3-makeup/#makeup_on_shabbat

https://www.deracheha.org/cosmetics-on-shabbat-4-makeup-removal-and-mikveh/

https://www.deracheha.org/cosmetics-on-shabbat-1-types-of-product/

https://www.deracheha.org/cosmetics-on-shabbat-2-scent-and-healing/

This episode delves into the ways in which we imbue Shabbat with holiness and how these acts are refracted through the act of making kiddush over wine.  We also talk about women’s obligation in both nighttime and daytime kiddush and some practical halachik scenarios that frequently come up.

Related Deracheha Articles:

https://www.deracheha.org/kiddush-1-obligation/

https://www.deracheha.org/kiddush-2-practical-issues/

https://www.deracheha.org/discharging-anothers-obligations/

https://www.deracheha.org/discharging-obligations-in-practice/

The mitzvah of Chanuka candle lighting has classically been fulfilled in diverse ways, with differences between Sephardi and Ashkenazi households, and between women of different communities. This conversation explores several halachic aspects of the mitzva, as well as ways to imbue our celebration of Chanuka with more meaning.

Links to Deracheha Articles:

https://www.deracheha.org/af-hen/

https://www.deracheha.org/chanuka/

This conversation explores the mitzva of lighting Shabbat candles, which is primarily fulfilled by women. We discuss the meaning and special place of this mitzva, alongside important halachic points about lighting in different circumstances.

Deracheha articles:

https://www.deracheha.org/candle-lighting-1/

https://www.deracheha.org/candle-lighting-2/

Song mentioned by Shayna, "My Dear Imma"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nld0iWR0LJc&list=RDNld0iWR0LJc&start_radio=1

This episode explores the unique power of communal prayer, along with some of its challenges. We also discuss limitations that can impact women’s sense of participation and practical steps communities can take to make shul more comfortable for everyone.

Relevant Deracheha articles:

https://www.deracheha.org/minyan/

https://www.deracheha.org/tefilla-be-tzibbur/

'Kotvot Halacha' with the article by R. Michal Tikochinsky: 

https://kotar.cet.ac.il/kotarapp/index/Book.aspx?nBookID=113818082

This episode concludes this season's Tefilla series, weaving between ideas about Pesukei de-zimra and Shema, a candid discussion of prayer priorities when short on time, and a look at what it means to accept the "yoke of heaven" in a culture centered on autonomy.

Links to Related Deracheha Articles and other sources mentioned in the episode:

https://did.li/LfVIw

https://did.li/ANhDN

https://did.li/RYJgT

Wordsworth sonnet: https://did.li/90bUY

Rav Amital article on commitment vs. connection: https://did.li/XHyOf

Podcasts with Shayna on the religious culture in Israel vs the diaspora:

Orthodox Conundrum: Diaspora Modern Orthodoxy and Israeli Religious Zionism: https://did.li/v5s6q

18Forty: Inside Israel’s Religious Zionist Community: https://did.li/4qnmC

Today’s conversation continues our tefilla series with a zoom in on the morning blessings that are gender specific: a man blessing God for not making him a woman, and a woman blessing God for making her according to His will. This episode also connects to a broader thread of Women Talking Mitzvot, how to navigate Jewish texts and liturgy that can be uncomfortable when viewed in a modern light.Deracheha article: https://www.deracheha.org/prayer-5-she-lo-asani-isha-she-asani-kirtzono/Links to content referenced:Ilana Kurshan, “If All the Seas Were Ink”: https://www.amazon.com/If-All-Seas-Were-Ink/dp/1250121264
Article on Yeshivat Har Etzion learning Ketubot: https://forward.com/opinion/208361/its-time-for-yeshivas-to-fight-rape-culture/
Esti Rosenberg, The World of Women’s Torah Learning: Developments, Directions, and Objectives: https://www.yutorah.org/lectures/777845/The-World-of-Women%E2%80%99s-Torah-Learning:-Developments,-Directions,-and-ObjectivesSara Wolkenfeld on imagining ourselves into the Beit Midrash at the Women's Shas completion: https://thelehrhaus.com/commentary/imagining-ourselves-into-the-beit-midrash/

This conversation discusses meaningful ways to experience the Aseret Yemei Teshuva and Yom Kippur, drawing on an exploration of their halachot and customs. While Yom Kippur is the most intense day of the Jewish year, it also has the potential to be the most joyous.
Links to relevant pages on Deracheha:
https://www.deracheha.org/fast-days/
https://www.deracheha.org/exemption-from-major-fasts/

With Rosh Hashana approaching, we sat down to speak about the power of its central mitzva: hearing the shofar. We discuss how the shofar is presented in the Torah and the halachic requirements of the mitzva, and we share some of our own formative memories and experiences of Rosh Hashana.
Episodes are available for sponsorship for any of your meaningful occasions. Be in touch with us at [email protected]
Check out the relevant article on the Deracheha website:
https://www.deracheha.org/the-mitzva-of-shofar/