Sunday, December 22, 2019

torah study - Angel in the womb for women?



The Talmud (Niddah 30b) teaches us that when a child is in the womb, an angel comes and teaches it the entire Torah, which he subsequently forgets.


The simple reading of the Gemara gives no reason to draw a distinction between male and female. However, I am wondering if there are any sources which do make such a distinction. The reason I would think there could be a distinction is because it is possible the angel teaching them the Torah is connected to their mitzvah of learning Torah, and women do not have the same mitzvah as men (Kiddushin 29b), and the Mishna in Sotah (3:4) says that teaching a woman Torah is not such a good thing.


I am looking for sources that make this distinction, or explicitly reject such a distinction. I am not looking for indirect lines of reasoning which would indicate one way or the other. You can ask your own question if you want to find that.



Answer



In מריח ניחוח (Issue 10, Nitzavim - Vayeilech), R' Gamliel HaKohen Rabinowitz writes (as quoted in Daf al HaDaf to Nida 30b):



הסתפקתי פעם, אם גם לנקבה מלמדין התורה, או רק לזכר, ופשטתי זאת מדברי ה"נועם אלימלך" זי"ע, הנ"ל, שאם לא היו מלמדין התורה קודם שבאו לעולם, לא היה באפשרי להשיג התורה, והנה נשים צריכים לדעת היטב הלכות נדה חלה ועוד, וא"כ מה שהם צריכים לדעת בוודאי מלמדין אותן קודם ביאתן לעולם, כדי שיוכלו להשיג ולהבין זאת היטב כשיבואו לעולם וילמדו זאת. ודו"ק.



In short, he writes (based on the No'am Elimelech on Chayei Sarah and Vayikra) that the Torah studied in the womb, even when forgotten, makes a lasting impression on the soul, and this allows people to properly learn and understand Torah during their lives. Since women also must learn certain areas of Torah (particularly those areas that have bearing on halachos they must observe), he writes that they also require the experience of prenatal Torah study.


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