It's Not Misogyny

Shlomo Artzi and President Rueven Rivlin (JTA)

The Gemarah tells us that Kol B’Isha Erva (Brachos 24a) - the voice of a woman is considered ‘nakedness’. Obviously that cannot be taken literally. What it really means is that it is forbidden for a man to listen to a woman sing because it can arouse erotic thoughts.

Frankly I do not understand this Halacha. Perhaps it is the culture in which I live - but listening to a female sing has never aroused a single erotic thought in me. I have to wonder if it has ever aroused such thoughts in any man in our day. But... that is nevertheless the Halacha.

Let me hasten to add that I have never heard a woman sing at a live performance. I have only heard recordings. There are Poskim that do allow listening to recordings of female voices. But I cannot believe that even a live performance is seen by anyone as erotic in our day. (I certainly don’t.) So if I were to attend - say - a Barbra Streisand concert, (assuming she were dressed  modestly) she would not evoke a single erotic thought  in me.

I mention all of this in light of what has been reported by JTA: 

A tribute concert later this month for Shlomo Artzi, a man sometimes described as Israel’s Bruce Springsteen, was supposed to be a show of unity honoring an Orthodox rabbi whose life’s work is healing seriously ill patients for free…

But controversy erupted on Tuesday after Channel 12 revealed that Ezra Lemarpe’s founder, Rabbi Avraham Elimelech Firer, had requested that no female singers be included. Orthodox Jewish law prohibits men from hearing women sing, considering the female voice immodest and even a form of nudity. 

The reaction was swift. 

On Wednesday, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra said it would not perform at an event that “excludes women.” So did Artzi’s guitarist, Avi Singolda, and Orly Vilnai, a journalist who was to serve as host. Artzi himself wrote on Facebook that he plans to do “whatever is possible to change Rabbi Firer’s mind.” 

I get it. I actually have sympathy for both sides. However, what these boycotting artists do not understand is that what Rabbi Firer is demanding has nothing to do with misogyny. It has to do with Halacha. 

On the other hand, I also understand why the boycotters feel this way. Because as noted, it’s extremely hard to understand why a female voice is considered a form of nudity. They thus believe it absurd to not allow a female performer to sing at a concert for that reason. I don’t think it is a matter of being anti religious. It is a matter of not understanding why Halacha forbids it in the first place.  Something I do not understand either.

But not understanding the reasons for a Halacha should not cause people to boycott those that follow it.  They should respect the religious sensitivities of the man they want to honor. And not boycott a concert that will benefit his good works. 

There should be no ill will here from either side here. Rabbi Firer is not misogynistic. He is just religious. And those boycotting it should be understood as well in not seeing how anyone can consider a female singing a song as erotic. 

But at the end of the day, the person being honored is a devout Jew who more than deserves that honor and should not be expected to compromise his beliefs. Even if one strongly disagrees with them. They should understand that what they think they are protesting is not at all the case. 

The idea of this concert was unity. Unity does not equal agreement. It means respecting those we disagree with. That is a noble goal and ought to be pursued. Not boycotted.