Rabbi Ovadiah Yosefs Purim Ruling

[muman613]

I wonder what JTFers think about this Halachic finding of Rabbi Yosef.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/130200

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Topsy-Turvy Purim: Rabbi Yosef on Women Reading Book of Esther
Adar 5, 5769, 01 March 09 11:01
by Hillel Fendel


(IsraelNN.com) Rabbi Ovadia Yosef has caused a stir by repeating his ruling that women may, under certain circumstances, read the Book of Esther aloud, even for men, in fulfillment of the upcoming Purim holiday obligation.

Rabbi Yosef noted that women may thus enable men to fulfill their obligation only in a case where there are no men who can read the Book of Esther with the proper notes and pronunciation.

One of the commandments of the Purim holiday is to read aloud the complete Book of Esther from a scroll, without the help of punctuation or pronunciation symbols.  It must be read both evening and morning, and preferably with the proper musical intonations on each word.  The reading is generally a festive one, with frequent noisy interruptions to "wipe out" the evil Haman's name - while at the same time, the congregation must make sure to hear every word.

The issue of women reading for men has been a controversial issue in recent years.  Rabbi Yosef's more lenient approach, presented at his weekly class in Jerusalem on Saturday night, surprised many of his listeners and followers.  In truth, however, his position is a long-held one, presented in several of his Halakhic [Jewish legal] works.  In one of them, he even added, “And this is not, perish the thought, a Reform innovation, as this is the law."

Rabbi Yosef served as the Rishon LeTzion, Israel’s Chief Sephardic Rabbi, between the years 1973 and 1983.

The Ashkenazi practice on Purim is also to allow women to read the Megillah for men only if no man is available, but she should not recite the blessings; if a man later appears on the scene, he should read it for them again.

No Singing Problem
Rabbi Yosef said that one reason to be stringent might be the ban on men hearing a woman singing – but he said this is not a concern: “The most proper way is for a man to read, but there is a custom to have the woman read if, for instance, there is a small town with not many people and there is no one who knows how to read properly, but there is a woman who, thank G-d, knows how to read, she should read with the notes and they will all thus fulfill their obligation.”

The rabbi, aged 89, said that those who hear the scroll via a microphone or radio do not fulfill their obligation, because they are not hearing a human voice, but rather a technological reproduction thereof.

Women Reading for Women
Many rabbis endorse the widespread practice of having a “second” reading of the Book of Esther for women, following the main public reading in the synagogue on Purim night and morning, in which a woman reads aloud for other women.
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It sounds to me to be a lenient decision but in the cases discussed {in a town where there is no man who knows how to read with proper vowels and cantilations}. It is in these kinds of Halachic opinions that the Rabbi shows his understanding of Torah.

[DownwithIslam]

But how often does a situation arise in which their are no men capable of reading the megillah? In most situations today, people simply go to shul and hear it. Even if a person is unable to go to shul, chances are it's easier to find a man who can properly read the megilla simply because women don't usually do it.

[judeanoncapta]

Seems too obvious that it hardly needs to be stated.

Of course a woman can read the Megilah for a man, she is just as obligated to hear it read as he is.