Question

I don’t think the Rabbi reads Sabbath pamphlets, but over the last two weeks there was an interesting debate there about listening to women singing, and I’m interested in the Rabbi’s opinion. The debate is between two young rabbis. Rabbi Avraham Stav (the son of Rabbi David Stav) wrote that it is forbidden for men to listen to women singing, and therefore he did not go to a Yehudit Ravitz concert. In response, Rabbi Sagi Mazuz wrote that if it does not cause erotic thoughts, then it is permitted, since women’s singing is not a decree but depends on whether it causes such thoughts. He supported this with three arguments. He wrote briefly, so I hope I’m presenting his arguments the way he meant them: 1. Just as a woman’s hair is considered nakedness, yet we do not cover the girls’ hair because it does not cause us erotic thoughts, so too with a voice that does not cause erotic thoughts—it is permitted. 2. He brought a Talmudic passage that a woman’s voice was forbidden not only when she sings, but even when one greets a woman, and today nobody (including Rabbi Stav himself) refrains from greeting a woman. 3. The Chida wrote that Deborah sang before men because the Divine Presence rested there. Which implies that if there are no erotic thoughts, the matter is permitted.

What is the Rabbi’s opinion in practice? And is there a distinction between hearing it live and hearing it through media?