the recent article explained that women are exempt from time bound mitzvos. but kiddush seems to be an exception, women not only may say kiddush but are actually obligated in it. why is kiddush different, and what is the source for the exemption in the first place?
women and kiddush, if time bound mitzvos are exempt why kiddush
by moi613 | Sep 10, 2026 | Shabbat & Yom Tov | 2 comments
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thank you Rabbi, this makes the reason easy to understand.
The general rule is that women are exempt from מצות עשה שהזמן גרמא, positive mitzvot that apply only at specific times.
The Mishnah in Kiddushin 29a says:
וכל מצות עשה שהזמן גרמא אנשים חייבין ונשים פטורות
The Gemara in Kiddushin 34a gives examples: sukkah, lulav, shofar, tzitzit and tefillin.
But Kiddush is
dy this question. Kiddush is certainly time-bound. It applies on Shabbat. So why are women obligated?
The answer is based on the two expressions in the Torah about Shabbat:
זכור את יום השבת לקדשו
and
שמור את יום השבת לקדשו
Chazal say:
כל שישנו בשמירה ישנו בזכירה
Anyone who is included in “Shamor,” guarding Shabbat by not doing prohibited melachah, is also included in “Zachor,” remembering Shabbat through Kiddush.
Women are fully obligated in
the prohibitions of Shabbat, just like men. Therefore the Torah links them into the positive mitzvah of Kiddush as well.
That is why Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 271:2, says explicitly:
נשים חייבות בקידוש אף על פי שהוא מצות עשה שהזמן גרמא משום דאיתקש זכור לשמור
Women are obligated in Kiddush even though it is a time-bound positive mitzvah, because Zachor was linked to Shamor.
And because their obligation is Torah-level, the Shulchan Aruch continues that a woman can even make Kiddush for a man and be motzi him, because:
חייבות מן התורה כמותם
They are obligated from the Torah just as he is.
So this is an important reminder that מצות עשה שהזמן גרמא is a general rule, not an absolute rule with no exceptions.
The Gemara itself points this out. There are time-bound positive mitzvot in which women are nevertheless obligated, such as matzah, simchah, Hakhel, and Kiddush, because there is a specific source bringing women back into that particular mitzvah.
So the structure is simple:
Normally, women are exempt from a positive mitzvah that is dependent on time.
But if the Torah or Chazal have a specific source showing that women are included, then they are included.
Kiddush is one of the clearest examples.
Why?
Because whoever is obligated in Shamor is obligated in Zachor.
Women keep Shabbat.
Therefore women make Kiddush.