Why Are Women Exempt from Positive Time-Bound Mitzvot?

Much controversy has surrounded women’s exemption from positive time-bound mitzvot, totalling 14 commandments. Some mistakenly assess that it is because women have a lower status in Judaism, but indeed, it is the very opposite. Let’s explore together the underlying reasons for women’s unique reality in regards to this exemption.

In our day-to-day lives, when someone is exempt from an obligation or a specific requirement, whether it be a driver’s license test, a particular school exam or even paying a certain tax, it usually means that one possesses the necessary requirements or qualifications for the task, or has already fulfilled them in the past. For instance, if one doesn’t need to pass a driver’s license test once again, it means that they have already done so in the past and thus have the necessary requirements to drive. If someone is exempt from passing a certain exam in school, it most likely implies that they understood the material perfectly and thus do not need to be tested, as they would get 100%. It seems like this principle also applies to our current topic.

Women Are on a Higher Spiritual Status

This leads us to our first point. The Maharal explains that women are born on a higher spiritual level than men, and thus are exempt from the additional time-bound mitzvot that men are obligated to fulfill. Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch adds that “Women have greater fervor and more faithful enthusiasm for their G-d-serving calling … and therefore do not need certain time-bound mitzvot as reminders¹. Rabbi Hirsh further assesses that a “woman does not need the time-based Mitzvos since her soul is more naturally in harmony with Olam HaBa and also because she is naturally a person with spiritual passion”².

Additionally, there is a general understanding that Hashem gives you what you can handle. Every struggle or difficulty, or lack thereof, is custom made for that particular individual. One needs to go through certain things to elevate their soul and fulfill their true purpose in life. Therefore, if a particular mitzva is addressed to a man, a woman, a Levi or a Cohen, it means that it is meant to perfect them, and they are in need of it to reach greater spiritual heights. If a woman is not required to fulfill certain mitzvot, it is because her soul doesn’t need them.

Women Are More Internally Focussed

It is well-known that women possess bina, a feminine quality which is commonly translated as emotional intelligence. The word bina comes from the Hebrew word livnot, which means to build. Women have a greater capacity for spiritual growth, nurture, and building relationships, which are all tied to the “building” aspect of one’s self and demand a rich internal world. This brings us to our second argument which explains that women are more internal and thus need less structure. 

It is well-known that women possess bina, a feminine quality which is commonly translated as emotional intelligence. The word bina comes from the Hebrew word livnot, which means to build. Women have a greater capacity for spiritual growth, nurture, and building relationships, which are all tied to the “building” aspect of one’s self and demand a rich internal world.

Since the primary purpose of mitzvot is for connection and notably structure, women are exempt from certain time-bound mitzvot, such as communal prayers, tefillin, sitting in the sukka, etc., which all provide structure in one’s religious life. Women are beyond that need. Men, on the other hand, get swamped by the tireless pressure of their schedule and therefore need periodic mitzvot reminders to remain focussed on spirituality. The mitzvot provide more structure and a greater sense of closure.

Yet we can observe that several mitzvot that are assigned to women are time-dependent, including Hadlakat Nerot, Taharat Hamishpacha and Rosh Chodesh. How are we to understand this apparent contradiction, where on the one hand, Torah tells us that women do not need certain time-bound mitzvot for they are more internal and do not need the structure that they provide, yet on the other hand, women’s unique mitzvot are mostly time-bound? The Maharal offers a beautiful answer: “These special women’s mitzvot come to complete that which is lacking in a woman for candle lighting … is a Tikun to the Sechel … and purification from the blood of Nidah is a purification of her Nefesh as the Posuk says: Ki Ha dam hou hanefesh. … And Challah is similar to the body of a person for a person’s body is like mixed dough.”³ These time-bound mitzvot that women are given are there to repair her sins and elevate her soul.

Women Have a Greater Capacity to Maintain a Balanced Divine Service

Another explanation for women’s exemption of time-bound mitzvot is that they have a greater capacity to maintain a balanced Avodat Hashem (divine service) than men. Men’s nature allows them to solve issues one at a time, whereas women are able to focus on multiple realities and integrate them into a unified one. This is connected to Miriam Kosman’s extremely relevant depiction of a man’s vs a woman’s nature in her book Circle, Arrow, Spiral: Exploring Gender in Judaism. A man is symbolized by the arrow, that is, he is action-oriented, driven, very focussed and only able to focus on one thing at a time. Women, on the other hand, are symbolized by the circle, relationship-focussed, able to multitask, capable of focussing on multiple realities and integrating them into one whole. This results in a greater capacity to have a balanced service of G-d.

Let us finish by examining a fascinating passage of John Gray’s Man are from Mars, Women are from Venus: “When a man is stressed (has a problem)…he becomes so focused on solving this one problem that he temporarily loses awareness of everything else… he becomes increasingly distant, forgetful, unresponsive… goes to his private cave… to find a solution…, i.e. he gets totally absorbed in that problem. When a Venusian (female) becomes upset or is stressed… she seeks out someone she trusts and then talks in great detail about the problems of her day… On Venus, sharing your problems with another is actually considered a sign of love and trust and not a burden. Venusians are not ashamed of having problems. Their egos are dependent not on looking “competent” but rather on being in loving relationships.”⁴

Understanding the Torah’s reasons for exempting women of certain time-bound mitzvot gives us an understanding of its purpose and how it envisioned women’s role in this world. May we realize Torah’s greatness and its tremendous appreciation for women!

Based on the teachings of Rabbi Avraham Edelstein

¹ Vayikra 23 and 43

² Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch, Siddur, Vayikra 23 and 43, last paragraph, Hilchot Bat Israel. A woman does not need the mitzvah of learning Torah, and all other positive time bound mitsvot as her soul is better prepared for life in the world to come, and also because she is naturally excited (connected) spiritually to the holy.

³ These are the mitzvot that a woman needs to perfect herself, candle lighting gives her understanding/wisdom, purification from her menstrual cycle, purifies her soul, as blood is the soul, Challa is similar to the human body, as the human body is compared to a mixed dough.

⁴ Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus: A Practical Guide in Improving Communication and Getting What You Want in a Relationship. Harpercollins: 1992. p. 30-31.