Q&A: Laws of Prayer
Laws of Prayer
Question
1. Are mothers who take care of children indeed exempt from prayer?
2. If so, does the same law apply when the husband is the one taking care of the children and the wife is the breadwinner?
Thank you
Answer
It has nothing to do with taking care of children. There are commandments from which women are exempt. By the way, regarding prayer, according to most opinions women are obligated.
True, some have suggested an explanation that ties this to taking care of children, but aside from the fact that the explanation is weak in itself, we do not "expound the reason for the verse," meaning we do not draw conclusions from our own conjectures about the reason for the law.
Discussion on Answer
Correct. Didn't you read what I wrote?
Do we not expound the reason for the verse in the case of rabbinic law?
According to Maimonides, prayer is Torah-level. But beyond that, the exemption of women from positive time-bound commandments is Torah-level.
So there is no distinction between mothers and other women?