Q&A: Women Singing
Women Singing
Question
In your last column (682) you wrote: "Think about the question of attending a performance by a female singer. A typical Haredi halakhic decisor would certainly forbid it outright. Even if the questioner explained to him that he enjoys the musical quality of her singing, that decisor would no doubt dismiss it out of hand and assume he is only trying to find a leniency. To that decisor, it is obvious that this desire has a sexual component; otherwise, why would someone specifically want to listen to a female singer? He has never listened to a female singer and does not understand the musical value that people find in such singing. Therefore, from his point of view, listening to a female singer is certainly a desire to arouse forbidden thoughts."
In your opinion, is there room not to forbid attending a female singer's performance outright? If so, why, and could you bring sources? Many thanks.
Answer
I do not see any need for sources. There are no authoritative sources for this, and sources from one halakhic decisor or another do not really add or detract. On the substance of the matter, the question is whether this is an intrinsic prohibition or a measure to prevent improper thoughts. I side with the latter view. One should remember that the prohibition regarding a woman's voice was not originally stated specifically about singing, but in general. So in any case, the prohibition has gone through various interpretations.