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Halachipedia states:

The latest time to say Shmoneh Esrei of Shacharit is the end of the fourth hour (in Shaot Zmaniot). If one has not prayed until the end of the fourth hour, one should pray Shacharit before the end of the sixth hour (midday, in Shaot Zmaniot). If one intentionally did not pray in the first four hours one should still pray before midday but one should stipulate that if one is exempt that one is praying a voluntary prayer.

Bearing in mind that women are free from positive time-bound mitzvos, but have taken on to pray when possible, do the same restrictions for times of davenning apply to women? (The question is not asked for a time when she is busy being a wife or mother.)

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  • "women are free from positive time-bound mitzvos, but have taken on to pray when possible" I'm not sure what this means to assume. Women are obligated in prayer despite it being time bound (for those who hold it is timebound) as it says explicitly on Berakhot 20b (in our girsa)
    – Double AA
    Commented Aug 19, 2022 at 9:11
  • I meant that she can get by with a short prayer when her wife/mother duties overtake her. Commented Aug 19, 2022 at 9:14
  • There is no source for such an opinion in rishonim. If you're asking specifically according to a position (which again has no source in rishonim) that a once daily personal prayer is the only obligation, then clearly times don't apply and I'm not sure what you're confused about. Which opinion are you asking like?
    – Double AA
    Commented Aug 19, 2022 at 9:15
  • Wait are you suggesting that her obligation changes if she's busy or not? Surely somebody busy with one mitzva may be exempt from another mitzva temporarily as needed, but their fundamental obligation is always the same. Either they are always obligated in prayer times (and sometimes other more important obligations prevent doing so) or never obligated in them.
    – Double AA
    Commented Aug 19, 2022 at 9:18

1 Answer 1

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This is the Aruch HaShulchan in 106:7, with translation from Sefaria:

והנה זהו וודאי דלרש"י נשים חייבות בשלוש תפילות ביום כאנשים, שהרי לדידיה אין חילוק בדרבנן בין "זמן גרמא" ל"אין זמן גרמא". וגם להתוספות כן הוא, שהרי לדידהו אומרת הגמרא מפורש כן: דאף על גב דזמן גרמא, מכל מקום כיון דרחמי נינהו – חייבינהו רבנן אף בזמן גרמא, וממילא דחייבות כאנשים. אבל להרי"ף והרמב"ם דלא גרסי טעם "דרחמי", אלא חיובן מן התורה מפני דאין הזמן גרמא, ממילא דאין חיובן אלא פעם אחת ביום ובאיזה נוסח שהוא. דאין לומר דאחרי שתיקנו חכמים שלוש פעמים ביום ובזמנן חל חיוב זה גם עליהן, דאם כן מאי פריך "פשיטא", הא טובא קא משמע לן? אלא וודאי כמו שכתבתי. (והמגן אברהם סעיף קטן ב' קיצר בזה. דוודאי להרמב"ם כן הוא, אבל לרש"י ותוספות וודאי חייבות בכל התפילות כאנשים ובזמנן. ותלמידי רבנו יונה כתבו: אף על פי שיש לה זמן קבוע, אפילו הכי כיון שאמרו הלואי שיתפלל אדם כל היום כולו – כאין הזמן גרמא דיינינן לה, ולפיכך נשים חייבות. אי נמי: מפני שהוא רחמים. עד כאן לשונם. ולא ידענא טעם הראשון למאי צריך? דלרש"י ותוספות הא מפורש הטעם משום דרחמי נינהו, ולהרי"ף והרמב"ם לא קשה כלל. וצריך לומר דסבירא להו דהיא דרבנן, ולפניהם לא היה הגירסא "דרחמי נינהו", והוה קשה להו: הא הזמן גרמא? וסבירא להו כתוספות דגם בדרבנן שייך זמן גרמא. ולזה תרצו שני תירוצים: ולתירוץ ראשון יש לומר דנשים לא נתחייבו רק פעם ביום, כמו להרמב"ם. והלבוש כתב טעם אחר לגמרי, עיין שם. וזה וודאי תימא: שהרי ראה גירסת רש"י ותוספות "דרחמי נינהו", וגם בבה"ג יש טעם זה וכן בירושלמי, עיין שם. ולפי זה בדוחק יש ליישב מה שנשים שלנו אינן זהירות בכל השלוש תפילות לשיטת רש"י ותוספות, ולהרי"ף והרמב"ם אתי שפיר. ודייק ותמצא קל.)

And this is definitely true that according to Rashi, women are required to pray three times a day, the same way men are obligated, since according to him, there is no difference in Rabbinical law [regarding prayer] between a time-bound (which women are mostly exempt from Biblically) and a non-time-bound obligation. Tosfot would opine similarly, since according to their view, the Talmud explicitly states: although [prayer is] a time-bound obligation, nonetheless, since [the drive to pray stems from a universal human tendency] to seek [G-d's] mercy, the Rabbis obligated them, and naturally, they are obligated the same way men are. However, according to Rif and the Rambam, whose text [of the Talmud] does not include the reasoning that [the obligation to pray stems from a universal human tendency] to seek [G-d's] mercy, rather, argue that [women] are obligated Biblically [in prayer] since it is not a time-bound commandment, would naturally say that [women] are only required [to pray] once daily and [can choose any words they desire express prayer] (lit. "in any textual version"). It is impossible to say that the Rabbinic decree to pray three times daily and in [their obligated] time applies to [women] as well, for if that were so, why would the Talmud [rhetorically] reply "But that is obvious?!" (to the Mishna's statement that women are obligated in prayer, See Aruch HaShulchan : Chelek 1 : Siman 106 : 5)? [That rhetorical question is not logically sensible since the Mishna's statement is not at all obvious] rather it teaches us a great deal! Really, what I previously wrote is the correct way [to explain the matter].

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  • Note this just means according to the position held by, among others, the Rambam that daily prayer is biblical, we can make up an internally consistent position that women never got the rabbinic details. Rambam himself, though, writes that women are obligated in the rabbinic details too.
    – Double AA
    Commented Aug 19, 2022 at 12:08
  • Can I ask a dumb question- is Aruch Hashulchan the same as the Shulchan Aruch? And if so why the 2 names Commented Aug 19, 2022 at 19:24
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    @CuriousYid No dumb questions. Aruch Hashulchan is a summary/commentary on Shulchan Aruch written around 125 years ago by R' Yechiel Epstein; see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aruch_HaShulchan
    – Double AA
    Commented Aug 19, 2022 at 19:50
  • @DoubleAA thank you Commented Aug 19, 2022 at 22:33
  • After @DoubleAA 's comment that the Rambam writes that women are obligated in all the rabbinic details too, the answer to my question turns out that women are subject to the same restrictions for times of davenning as men. Commented Aug 21, 2022 at 7:38

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