✦ ❖ ✦
DAAT · LEVEL 1 — INTRODUCTION

Siman ע״ה · Ervah and distractions during the ק״ש

דין להיזהר מגילוי שער וקול אשה בשעת קריאת שמע — to guard, during the ק״ש, against a טפח uncovered on a woman in a place usually covered, against uncovered hair (שער), against a woman's singing voice (קול אשה), and not to recite facing an ערוה. A siman treated with sobriety and modesty.
סימן ע״ה · ו׳ סעיפים
דין להיזהר מגילוי שער וקול אשה בשעת קריאת שמע
🌱 Introductory level · Beginners
✦ ❖ ✦

This siman teaches, with modesty, the distractions to set aside during the ק״ש: a טפח uncovered on a woman in a place it is customary to cover (ערוה); uncovered hair (שער); a singing voice (קול אשה, but קול הרגיל בו אינו ערוה); and not reciting facing an ערוה (even through an עששית), with the leniency when he turns his face away or closes his eyes. Hebrew text, a fluent English translation and explanation of the ו׳ seifim, with a section of practical cases.

Topic: The distractions during the ק״ש — טפח באשה, שער, קול אשה, לקרות כנגד ערוה
Source: שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן ע״ה · ו׳ סעיפים

Compiled by: רב יוסף חיים סממה
DAAT · daattorah.com

Our Sages taught (ברכות כ״ד.): טפח באשה ערוה · שער באשה ערוה · קול באשה ערוה — a place it is customary to cover on a woman, her hair and her singing voice are, in this respect, an ערוה: they are liable to lead to הרהור (the thought that distracts). The siman teaches, with sobriety and respect, how to guard against them during the ק״ש. We study here at the level of principle; for personal conduct, one refers to the custom and to the ruling of the Rav.

📑 Study outline

A. The ו׳ seifim — טפח באשה (seif 1), שער (seif 2), קול אשה (seif 3), כנגד ערוה (seif 4), עששית (seif 5), החזיר פניו (seif 6)
1. Practical case — a place usually covered that becomes uncovered during the ק״ש
2. Practical case — the singing voice (קול אשה): what is ervah and what is not
3. Practical case — an ervah facing one: turning the face away or closing the eyes
+ Comprehension questions and going further

A. The distractions during the ק״ש — the ו׳ seifim

עֶרְוָה during the קריאת שמע — guarding against what distracts — the concern running through the whole siman is הרהור: the thought that turns the heart from its concentration. What it is customary to cover on a woman (a טפח at such a place, the hair), her singing voice, and nakedness (ערוה) in general, are on this account to be set aside during the ק״ש. Hence the restraint to observe, the leniency for what is habitual (קול הרגיל בו), and the principle בראייה תלה רחמנא (the Torah made the prohibition depend on sight).

Seif 1 — טפח באשה: a place usually covered

טפח מגולה באשה במקום שדרכה לכסותו — אפילו היא אשתו — אסור לקרות ק״ש כנגדה. הגה: וי״א דוקא באשתו, אבל באשה אחרת אפילו פחות מטפח הוי ערוה, וטפח באשה ערוה אפילו לאשה אחרת, רק שבעצמה יכולה לקרות אף על פי שהיא ערומה כדלעיל סימן ע״ד.
Seif 1: a handbreadth (טפח) uncovered on a woman, at a place it is customary to cover — even if she is his wife — it is forbidden to recite the ק״ש facing her. Rama: and some say this applies only to his wife, but with another woman even less than a handbreadth is ערוה; a handbreadth on a woman is ערוה even for another woman, except that she herself may recite even if she is unclothed, as was explained above in siman ע״ד.
The measure of reference is a טפח at a place it is customary to cover (not the face and hands, which are usually uncovered). The reason is הרהור, and so it is forbidden to recite the ק״ש facing her, even for his wife. The Rama brings stricter positions for another woman. The practical conduct is set by the Rav.

Seif 2 — שער של אשה: uncovered hair

שער של אשה שדרכה לכסות אסור לקרות כנגדו. הגה: אפילו אשתו. אבל בתולות שדרכן לילך פרועות הראש — מותר. הגה: וה״ה השערות של נשים שרגילין לצאת מחוץ לצמתן, וכל שכן שער נכרית אפילו דרכה לכסות.
Seif 2: the hair of a woman that it is customary to cover — it is forbidden to recite facing it. Rama: even his wife. But unmarried girls whose way is to go bareheaded — it is permitted. Rama: and the same holds for the hairs of women that regularly come out of their covering, and all the more so a wig, even if her way is to cover it.
What it is customary to cover — here the hair of a married woman — is ערוה in this respect, even for his wife. By contrast, what habitually goes uncovered (unmarried girls whose way it is) does not raise the same concern, since one is accustomed to it. The criterion remains the custom of covering; for application, one follows one's Rav.

Seif 3 — קול אשה: a singing voice

יש ליזהר משמיעת קול זמר אשה בשעת ק״ש. הגה: ואפילו באשתו, אבל קול הרגיל בו אינו ערוה.
Seif 3: one must guard against hearing a woman's singing voice during the ק״ש. Rama: and even that of his wife; but a voice one is accustomed to is not ערוה.
This concerns a singing voice (קול זמר), and during the ק״ש: one guards against it, even for his wife. The Rama notes that the ordinary voice one is accustomed to (קול הרגיל בו) is not ערוה in this respect. The practical contours (which voice, which circumstances) are set by the Rav.

Seif 4 — לקרות כנגד ערוה: not reciting facing a nakedness

אסור לקרות כנגד ערוה אפילו של עכו״ם, וכן כנגד ערות קטן אסור. ויש מתירין נגד ערות קטן כל זמן שאינו ראוי לביאה, וכן עיקר.
Seif 4: it is forbidden to recite facing an ערוה (a nakedness), even that of a non-Jew, and likewise facing the nakedness of a minor. Some permit facing the nakedness of a minor so long as he is not fit for relations, and that is the main opinion.
One does not recite the ק״ש facing an ערוה, without distinction of person — even that of a non-Jew. For a minor, one opinion permits so long as he has not reached the age set by halakha. The details of application belong to the Rav.

Seif 5 — ערוה בעששית: through a transparent wall

ערוה בעששית ורואה אותה דרך דפנותיה — אסור לקרות כנגדה, דכתיב ולא יראה בך ערות דבר והא מתחזיא.
Seif 5: an ערוה behind a lantern (a transparent wall) which he sees through its walls — it is forbidden to recite facing it, for it is written "let Him not see among you anything unseemly," and here it is seen.
Even when a transparent wall (עששית) separates them, so long as it is seen, the prohibition stands, for the verse ולא יראה בך ערות דבר makes the matter depend on what is seen (והא מתחזיא). The decisive factor is therefore sight, which sets up the next seif.

Seif 6 — החזיר פניו: turning the face away or closing the eyes

היתה ערוה כנגדו והחזיר פניו ממנה, או שעצם עיניו, או שהוא בלילה, או שהוא סומא — מותר לקרות, דבראייה תלה רחמנא והא לא חזי לה.
Seif 6: if an ערוה was facing him and he turned his face away from it, or closed his eyes, or it is night, or he is blind — it is permitted to recite, for the Torah made the prohibition depend on sight, and here he does not see it.
Since everything depends on sight (בראייה תלה רחמנא), it is enough that he not see it: turning the face away, closing the eyes, the darkness of night, or blindness — and then it is permitted. This is the practical conclusion of the principle stated in the previous seif.
The siman in one sentence: during the ק״ש one guards, with modesty, against what leads to הרהור — a טפח uncovered on a woman in a place usually covered (ערוה, even his wife), uncovered hair, a singing voice (but קול הרגיל בו אינו ערוה) — and one does not recite facing an ערוה, even through an עששית; but if he turned his face away, closed his eyes, at night, or a blind man — it is permitted, for בראייה תלה רחמנא.

Practical cases

Case 1 — A place usually covered that becomes uncovered

Situation: during the ק״ש, a place it is customary to cover on a woman is uncovered facing him. What to do?
Conduct: what is customarily covered is ערוה in this respect — one does not recite the ק״ש facing her (אסור לקרות כנגדה), including for his wife, for it leads to הרהור. He looks away or waits until it is covered. For the practical application and the exact measures, one follows one's Rav.

Case 2 — The singing voice (קול אשה)

Situation: he hears a woman's singing voice while reciting the ק״ש. Does this prevent him?
Conduct: one guards against hearing a singing voice during the ק״ש (יש ליזהר). But an ordinary voice one is accustomed to (קול הרגיל בו) is not ערוה in this respect. For the concrete cases, one follows one's Rav.

Case 3 — An ervah facing one

Situation: an ערוה is facing him during the ק״ש. Must he interrupt?
Conduct: one does not recite facing an ערוה, even through a transparent wall (עששית) if it is seen. But since everything depends on sight, it suffices to turn the face away or close the eyes (or at night, or a blind man) for it to be permitted: בראייה תלה רחמנא. For application, one follows one's Rav.

Comprehension questions

Check your understanding:
  1. What is the reason that makes a טפח uncovered at a place usually covered an ervah in this respect (seif 1)?
  2. Why is the hair of a married woman at issue, while that of an unmarried girl whose way is to go bareheaded is not (seif 2)?
  3. What is « קול הרגיל בו » and how does it change the din of the voice (seif 3)?
  4. Why does an ervah seen through an עששית remain forbidden (seif 5)?
  5. What is « בראייה תלה רחמנא » and what does it permit in practice (seif 6)?

Going further

If you wish to deepen this siman:
Continue to the next simanSiman 76 →
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
DAAT · רב יוסף חיים סממה

סימן ע״ה · ו׳ סעיפים · Level 1 — Introduction
♥ Support DAAT
📖Join the khavroutha