How should she rejoice? TB Haggigah 6

According to the first Mishna women are freed from the obligation of re-eyah (רְאִיָיה), appearing in the Temple courtyard on the holiday with the ‘olat re-eyah (עוֹלַת רְאִיָיה), a whole burnt sacrifice. The first Mishna enumerates a minor as one who is also exempt from the mitzvah of re-eyah. The Mishnah defines the age of child when a father brings him along with him in order to teach the child about the mitzvah of re-eyah as well as to habituate him to observe this commandment.

“Who has the status of a minor with regard to this halakha? Any child who is unable to ride on his father’s shoulders and ascend from Jerusalem to the Temple Mount; this is the statement of Beit Shammai. And Beit Hillel say: Any child who is unable to hold his father’s hand and ascend on foot from Jerusalem to the Temple Mount, as it is stated: “Three times [regalim]” (Exodus 23:14). Since the term for feet is raglayim, Beit Hillel infer from here that the obligation to ascend involves the use of one’s legs.” (Sefaria.org translation)

On today’s daf TB Haggigah 6 the rabbis sees an immediate problem. Women back then (and even now today) were the primary caregivers of the children. In fact mothers weaned their children at 24 months. Certainly the mothers had to accompany the family up to the Temple on the holidays in order to take care of their very young children. It didn’t make sense to the rabbis that women had to go on this family trip that according to Jewish law they were exempt.

“The mishna taught: Who is a minor who is exempt from the mitzva of appearance in the Temple? Any child who is unable to ride on his father’s shoulders and ascend from Jerusalem to the Temple Mount. Rabbi Zeira strongly objects to this:

“Who brought him to here, all the way to Jerusalem? If the father could bring his child to Jerusalem, why can’t he bring him to the Temple Mount?

“Abaye said to him: With regard to the way to here, as his mother is also obligated in rejoicing on the Festival, his mother brought him when she herself ascended to the capital. From this point forward, if he is able to ascend and hold his father’s hand from Jerusalem to the Temple Mount, he is obligated, and if not, he is exempt.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Abaye’s solves this problem by saying that although women are not obligated to bring the re-eyah sacrifice, they were still obligated by rejoicing (simkha-שִׂמְחָה) on the holiday based on the verse “You shall rejoice with your household (Deuteronomy 14:26). Of course included in the household were the women.

Nevertheless the meaning of this mitzvah isn’t very clear. Rashi ד"ה דְּמִיחַיְּיבָא אִימֵּיהּ בְּשִׂמְחָה seems to imply that the mitzvah of rejoicing has nothing to do with sacrifices. The essence of this mitzvah was the husband will rejoice with his wife with all that he has in order to make her happy. Naturally the woman will join her husband so that she may rejoice with him. Tosefot ד"ה דְּמִיחַיְּיבָא says that even though women themselves are not obligated to bring these special peace offering sacrifices for the purpose of rejoicing called shelamai simkha-שלמי  שמחה, the men are obligated to bring the shelamai simkha in order for his wife to rejoice on the holiday. Some authorities hold the position that women are absolutely obligated to bring these shelamai simkha sacrifices; consequently, women had to go up to the Temple to offer up the sacrifices.