Kiddush Levana - Women

QUESTION: Are women obligated in Kiddush Levana? 

ANSWER: The Magen Avrohom (OC 426:1) writes that since Kiddush Levana is a time-bound mitzvah, women are exempt. Although it is customary for women to perform many other time-bound mitzvos, he cites the Shelah Hakadosh who writes that women should not recite Kiddush Levana for Kabbalistic reasons. The Magen Avrohom points out that there is an implication from the Gemara that women can recite an abridged version of Kiddush Levana, but he notes that this too is not the custom.

The Magen Avrohom is referring to the Gemara (Sanhedrin 42a) which records a disagreement between Rav Acha and Rav Ashi about the text of Kiddush Levana. According to Rav Acha, Kiddush Levana is a short bracha (similar to other Birchos Hare’iya recited on seeing the wonders of creation). Rav Ashi responded that even women can say a short bracha. Rather, Kiddush Levana is a long bracha (i.e., a prayer that begins and ends with a bracha). According to the Magen Avrohom, we see from here that women can in fact recite a short bracha for Kiddush Levana (and the Meiri says this explicitly).

However, one can explain the Gemara differently: Rav Ashi does not mean that women should say a short bracha; rather, he is proving that Kiddush Levana is not a short bracha. Rabbi Genack (Birkas Yitzchak – Sanhedrin, siman 25) explains that if Kiddush Levana would be a short bracha, then women would certainly say it upon seeing the moon, just as they recite all other brachos on seeing the wonders of creation, such as a rainbow or ocean. Rav Ashi proves from the fact that women do not say Kiddush Levana that it is not another short Birkas Hare’iya but rather a different kind of bracha in which women are not obligated. Since the halacha is like Rav Ashi that Kiddush Levana is a long bracha, it follows that it is not a Birkas Hare’iya, but rather a special prayer of praise that was instituted to be said upon the reappearance of the moon, and as such women are exempt.

It is interesting to note that the Rambam (Hilchos Berachos 10:16) lists Kiddush Levana together with other Birkas Hare’iya, such as seeing a rainbow, indicating that he considers this to also be a form of a Birkas Hare’iya. However, Shulchan Aruch placed the halachos of Kiddush Levana together with the halachos of Rosh Chodesh (siman 426) and not with the other brachos (siman 224-229). This would indicate that Kiddush Levana is different from other Birchos Hare’iya, as explained above. 

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