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Family Mitzvot
Search for the Halakhic SourceThe Talmud inquires into the biblical source for the ruling in the Mishna that a mother is exempt from the obligation to teach her son Torah.
She, the mother, from where do we derive that she is not obligated to teach her son Torah? The Gemara explains: As it is written: “You shall teach them to your sons to speak of them” (Deuteronomy 11:19), and it is also stated: “And you shall learn them, and you shall take care to perform them” (Deuteronomy 5:1). It is derived from the similar expressions that there is a link between the obligation to teach others and the obligation to study oneself: Anyone who is commanded to study Torah is commanded to teach it to others, and anyone who is not commanded to study is not commanded to teach it to others. Since a woman is not obligated to study Torah, she is likewise not obligated to teach it to others.