Can a Woman be a Shochet?

Shechita is the process of ritually slaughtering permitted animals in order to eat. We first learn about the process indirectly in Devarim as Moshe tells over to Bnei Yisrael that “you may slaughter of your cattle and of your sheep, which the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you”¹. Rashi² specifies that the phrase “as I have commanded you” implies shechita, and that these laws had to have been given to Moshe orally for him to teach the rest of the people. The Mishna in Chullin is the earliest source beyond this which discusses shechita. In its discussion, the question of who may and may not be a shochet arise. Only three categories of people are excluded (such as the deaf, mentally challenged people and minors)³, and the Rashba⁴ notes that women are not counted in this. This brings us to the question, can a woman practically be a shochet?

The Shulchan Aruch in Yoreh Deah⁵ rules that anyone may shecht so long as they are knowledgeable in the laws of shechita and they do not become faint in any part of the shechting process. He rules explicitly that women l’hatchila may shecht. There are, in fact, many halachic sources permitting and even offering examples of women shechting. The Mishna in Zevachim⁶ writes, “… for Shehitah is kosher when performed by non-Kohanim, by women, slaves, and the impure, even of [sacrifices that are] the holy of holies” and Rav Saadia Gaon, the Rambam⁷, and the Tur⁸ all emphasized this allowance in their writings. 

As for practical evidence, the Tosefot on Eruvin⁹ write “And even though there are cases every day that we trust women regarding Shehitah, Nikkur and taking Challah…”. There is a similar wording in a Tosefot on Pesachim¹⁰. The city of Mantua in Italy has many extant sources of female shochatot. One includes a kabbalah (formal permission) stating “I hereby permit her to slaughter beina l’vein atzma, by herself, and her Shehitah will be permissible to the entire Jewish people”¹¹. It is worth noting that in Sephardi communities, the evidence suggests that there was far less restriction on women shechting than in Ashkenazi communities, as will be exemplified by the Rema in his comments in the Shulchan Aruch.

Halachically, women are permitted to be shochatot, but practically, they have not served in this role in most communities over the centuries. This latter point raises the question if a minhag can be established through a lack of involvement, rather than an active interest by members of the community that is denied by local halachic authorities.

The Rema¹² notes that the minhag in his area is that women do not shecht. He follows the opinion of the Agur¹³ who writes, “even though the Tosefot wrote explicitly “that women slaughter even before the fact”, the custom in the entire Exile of Israel is that they should not slaughter, and I have never seen a custom [for women] to slaughter. And therefore one should not allow them to slaughter. ‘For the custom cancels the halacha’, ‘and the custom of our forefathers is Torah’”. This dialogue summarizes the crux of the matter. Halachically, women are permitted to be shochatot, but practically, they have not served in this role in most communities over the centuries. This latter point raises the question if a minhag can be established through a lack of involvement, rather than an active interest by members of the community that is denied by local halachic authorities. The Maharik¹⁴ holds that not seeing something happen for long enough does in fact establish a minhag. Following this, the minhag would hold that women may not take up official roles as shochatot, even though the halacha permits it.

The Simla Chadasha is an 18th-century book that compiles the laws of shechita. In it, the author notes that while women are technically permitted to shecht, his communal custom is that they do not, even if the women are highly knowledgeable in the laws of shechita. He goes on to say that in this case, a woman should not be given formal permission to shecht. In the case that one does want to eat meat shechted by a woman, a vetted shochet needs to have supervised the shechita or tested her knowledge after. 

By the early 20th century, the custom for women to not shecht had taken root in most Jewish communities. Rav Yakov Chaim Sofer¹⁵, of this time period, writes, “And the custom here in the holy city of Jerusalem is that women do not slaughter, and so is the custom in all the cities of Eretz Yisrael, Syria, Iraq, India, and Persia”.

Another reason for a lack of women in the role is brought by Rav Chaim Soloveitchik¹⁶. Traditionally, a shochet was a communal position, and women do not usually serve in these capacities¹⁷. There was often only one person best fitted for the role and he was appointed as the town shochet. Under this circumstance, it is not only women who wouldn’t be permitted to shecht, but anyone else who tried to sell meat would be prohibited from doing so¹⁸, even if the shechting was very good and the meat was glatt kosher. As time has gone on, it has become more common that an area is not limited to one shochet, but it has become commonplace for women to remain out of this role.

Aside from the halachic questions, it would be remiss to ignore the fact that women may not be all that interested in this role. Around the world, butchers have been and are still primarily men, and the physical and graphic nature of the work has historically appealed more to men than women. Many families who raise their own animals may have shechted them themselves. Private shechita still requires extensive knowledge of the halachot and practical skills, but it does not carry with it the weight of the communal role. In this instance, it is likely that women may have shechted smaller animals to feed to their families, and in some cases, this was the stipulation by which certain rabbis¹⁹ permitted women to shecht in communities which generally forbade it. 

Ultimately, the discussion of women performing shechita has become an example whereby halacha and minhag have diverged and, by this point, the minhag prevails. It is, however, worth noting that as women step more into public life, there may be more room for flexibility on the minhag given the l’hatchila halachic support for women shechting.

1. Devarim 12:21 ↩︎
2. Rashi on Devarim 12:21 ↩︎
3. Mishna Chullin 2a ↩︎
4. Rashba, Torat Habayit Ha’arokh 7a-b ↩︎
5. Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 1:1 ↩︎
6. Mishna Zevachim 31b ↩︎
7. Rambam, Hilchot Shechitah 4:4 ↩︎
8. Tur Yoreh Deah 1 ↩︎
9. Tosefot on Eruvin 59a ↩︎
10. Tosefot on Pesachim 4b ↩︎
11. Letter from Rabbi Shlomo ben Shimshon Basilea to Mrs. Malka, wife of Rabbi Hananiah Elyakim Rieti ↩︎
12. Rema, Yoreh Deah 1:1 ↩︎
13. Sefer Ha’agur ↩︎
14. Rama Choshen Mishpat 37:22 quotes the Maharik ↩︎
15. Kaf HaChaim on Yoreh Deah 1:12 ↩︎
16. Shi’urei Ha-Rav on Yoreh Deah 1 ↩︎
17. Mishneh Torah, Kings and Wars 1:5 ↩︎
18. Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 1:11 ↩︎
19. Rabbi Yaakov Emden, Responsa Ya’avetz ↩︎