Chapter Three: Carrying a Weapon as a Woman

Core Halachic Principles

a. Women and men are equal in the right and obligation to carry a weapon in order to protect themselves and save others.

b. A woman who carries a weapon should not change her wardrobe to men’s attire.

c. There is no obligation to have separate training for women and men, however it is appropriate to allocate separate training to men and woman who are interested in doing so.

Analysis of the Halacha

1.Carrying a Weapon as a Woman

The Torah prohibits men from wearing women’s clothing and women to wear men’s clothing:

Masculine items shall not be on a woman, and [man] shall not wear the dress of a woman, for any [person] who does this is an abomination of Hashem your God.¹

The Sages determined that included within this is the carrying of a weapon, which is a masculine item, by a woman. In a Baraita in the Gemara, the Tanaim expound this verse:

“masculine items shall not be on a woman”. What is this coming to teach? If [it is meant to teach] that a man should not wear women’s clothing or woman wear man’s clothing, it is already stated “it is an abomination”! rather, [it is coming to teach] that a man should not wear women’s clothing and sit amongst the women, and a woman [should not wear] men’s clothing and sit amongst the men; Rebbe Eliezer Ben Yaakov says: from where do we know that a woman should not go out with a weapon to war? The verse teaches: “masculine items shall not be on a woman, and man shall not wear the dress of a woman” – [to teach] that man should not use women’s cosmetics.²

The Sages learn from the verse that there is a prohibition to wear clothes unique to the other sex, as a measure of ‘abomination’ – prohibited mixing between men and women.³ Rebbe Eliezer Ben Yaakov adds that a woman is prohibited from carrying a weapon because these items are “masculine”.⁴ It is not fully elucidated whether, according to the opinion of Rebbe Eliezer Ben Yaakov, he prohibits carry a weapon specifically when there is a negative context, as dictated by the Sages, or if the prohibition is broader. The Achronim disagree regarding this, as explained later on.

The Rambam and Shulchan Aruch rule in accordance with Rebbe Eliezer Ben Yaakov:

A woman should not adorn herself with male ornaments, such as placing a turban or hat or wearing armor and the like.⁵

The Bach⁶ writes that the prohibition only applies to objects that are for aesthetics and adornment, and only when the woman does so to look like a man, however if she did this for another reason, it is permissible. This is also written by the commentaries on the Shulchan Aruch, and this is the Taz’s wording:

This means [wearing garments of the opposite sex] in a manner of adornment or as decoration is prohibited, but if she did so because of the sun or cold or rain, there is no prohibition.⁷

If we implement this delineation for carrying a weapon, one must say that a woman carrying a weapon for self-defense and not for adornment or aesthetics does not violate the prohibition. This is also what Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef writes:

And according to this [reasoning], so too in our case, where there is no intention of the female teachers carrying a weapon to resemble men, but to protect their lives and the lives of their students who are under their watch and supervision, it seems clear that this possesses no element of ‘masculine items shall not be on a woman’.⁸

However, other authorities learn from the wording of Rebbe Eliezer Ben Yaakov – “should not go out with a weapon to war” – that there is an independent prohibition for a woman to carry a weapon, since it is an item designated for men and departure to war is a matter of men.

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein deals with this in the Igrot Moshe Responsa, volume 4, article 75. Rabbi Shabtai Rappaport (married to the granddaughter of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein) asked him if he permits women in Gush Etzion to carry a weapon. Rabbi Rappaport asked this with the belief that carry a weapon not for the sake of aesthetics is permissible for women, however Rabbi Moshe Feinstein wrote that this was prohibited: Since carrying a weapon and departure to war are also only masculine matters, for this prohibition [regarding weapons] is not associated with aesthetics at all, rather this carrying and departure is exclusively a masculine matter and prohibited for women to wear.⁹

According to Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, the permissibility of this matter is dependent on aesthetics and adornment only in the case of clothing, jewelry, etc., however carrying a weapon and departing to war include an independent prohibition of “masculine matters”, which is not dependent on the woman’s intentions. Granted, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein differentiates between departing to war and participating in a local wartime event. He does not utilize the permit of pikuach nefesh, rather writing that “in small wars” women are found equally with men, and one should not differentiate between the two, and the weapon is not considered a “masculine item”.

Therefore, his opinion is that a woman can carry a weapon in a non-military capacity, not only in life-threatening situations, but also to save others from “a general strike”. One should not prevent women from traveling where they wish due to danger or mandate that they travel with a man. On the contrary, even when traveling with a man, it is preferrable that both of them carry a weapon. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein adds there that there is more room to be lenient with a pistol compared to a rifle, because the military specifically uses rifles.

Rabbi Chaim David Halevi¹⁰ also believes that there is an independent prohibition for women to carry a weapon, and he also divides between the prohibited military framework and weapon carrying in other contexts:

For the core aspect of the prohibition is the use of a weapon regularly like men; this is what is prohibited for a woman. But in a specific case where a national enemy approaches her or a dangerous person and the like, it is obvious that using a weapon is not prohibited [for her]. And one does not even need to mention a case where a woman must protect her life or her children’s lives and the like, of which it is permissible and a commandment for her to use a weapon and fulfill the mitzvah of “if one comes to kill you – arise to kill him”.

Therefore, his conclusion is that carrying a weapon in a military or systemic framework (such as the civil guard) is prohibited for women, but weapon use outside of the military is permitted.

In the Tzitz Eliezer Responsa, he writes that the prohibition to carry a weapon is an independent prohibition of departure to war, even a defensive war (milchemet mitzvah), and regarding that which is stated that even a bride from her wedding canopy departs to a defensive war is for homefront positions and not as a combatant. It is possible that he is more stringent than the authorities we brought earlier ¹¹.

Practically, according to the majority of the halachic authorities, a woman is permitted to carry a weapon for self-defense and protection, and even according to those who prohibit a woman to draft into the army and carry a weapon militarily, the matter is permissible for self-defense outside of this framework, even in situations that do not involve pikuach nefesh, and all the more so in our current reality where there is an element of pikuach nefesh ¹².

2.Modesty and Carrying a Weapon

When training and carrying a weapon, there is an obligation to maintain the boundaries of modesty

First, the permit to carry a weapon touches upon the prohibition of “masculine items shall not be on a woman” as previously stated. Elsewhere we wrote that even when a woman carries a weapon, it is best that she doesn’t change her clothing to more masculine attire, even if it is more appropriate for carrying a weapon ¹³.

Aside from this, there is technically no fundamental prohibition to hold joint training sessions for men and women, however it is appropriate for there to be division, and in general it is more comfortable for men to train with men and women with women. This division becomes more necessary when the training does not take place in a firing range, where every participant acts individually, but during training with additional elements ¹⁴.

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