מתני׳ כל מצות הבן על האב אנשים חייבין ונשים פטורות וכל מצות האב על הבן אחד אנשים ואחד נשים חייבין וכל מצות עשה שהזמן גרמא אנשים חייבין ונשים פטורות וכל מצות עשה שלא הזמן גרמא אחד האנשים ואחד הנשים חייבין וכל מצות לא תעשה בין שהזמן גרמא בין שלא הזמן גרמא אחד האנשים ואחד הנשים חייבין חוץ מבל תקיף ובל תשחית ובל תטמא למתים:
MISHNA: With regard to all positive, time-bound mitzvot, i.e., those which must be performed at specific times, men are obligated to perform them and women are exempt. And with regard to all positive mitzvot that are not time bound, both men and women are obligated to perform them. And with regard to all prohibitions, whether they are time-bound or whether they are not time-bound, both men and women are obligated to observe them, except for the prohibitions of: Do not round the corners of your head, and: Do not destroy the corners of your beard, and concerning priests: Do not contract ritual impurity from a corpse.
איהי מנלן דלא מיחייבא דכתיב ולימדתם ולמדתם כל שמצווה ללמוד מצווה ללמד וכל שאינו מצווה ללמוד אינו מצווה ללמד ואיהי מנלן דלא מיחייבה למילף נפשה דכתיב ולימדתם ולמדתם כל שאחרים מצווין ללמדו מצווה ללמד את עצמו וכל שאין אחרים מצווין ללמדו אין מצווה ללמד את עצמו ומנין שאין אחרים מצווין ללמדה דאמר קרא ולמדתם אותם את בניכם ולא בנותיכם
From where do we derive that a woman is not obligated to teach her son Torah? As it is written: “And you shall teach [velimadtem],” which can be read as: And you shall study [ulmadtem]. This indicates that whoever is commanded to study Torah is commanded to teach, and whoever is not commanded to study is not commanded to teach. Since a woman is not obligated to learn Torah, she is likewise not obligated to teach it. And from where is it derived that others are not commanded to teach a woman? As the verse states: “And you shall teach them to your sons” (Deut 11:19), which says: Your sons and not your daughters.
(יט) וְלִמַּדְתֶּ֥ם אֹתָ֛ם אֶת־בְּנֵיכֶ֖ם לְדַבֵּ֣ר בָּ֑ם בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ֤ בְּבֵיתֶ֙ךָ֙ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ֣ בַדֶּ֔רֶךְ וּֽבְשָׁכְבְּךָ֖ וּבְקוּמֶֽךָ׃
(19) And teach them to your children—reciting them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up;
From where do we derive that women are exempt from positive, time-bound mitzvot? It is derived by juxtaposition from the mitzva of phylacteries: Just as women are exempt from donning phylacteries, so too, women are exempt from all positive, time-bound mitzvot. And the exemption of women from donning phylacteries is derived from their exemption from Torah study: Just as women are exempt from Torah study, so too women are exempt from phylacteries, as the two are juxtaposed in the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:7–8).
(7) Impress them upon your children. Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. (8) Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead;
(ג) נשים ועבדים וקטנים פטורין מקריאת שמע ומן התפלין
(3) Women, slaves, and minors are exempt from reciting Shema and from Tefillin
(ח) איזו היא מצות עשה שהזמן גרמא כגון סוכה ולולב ותפלין איזו היא מ"ע שלא הזמן גרמא כגון אבידה ושילוח הקן [מעקה] וציצית ר"ש פוטר את הנשים מן הציצית מפני שהוא מצות עשה שהזמן גרמא
Which are positive commandments dependent on time? Such as sukkah, lulav, and Tefillin. Which are positive commandments which are not dependent on time? Such as returning a lost object, sending away the mother bird, putting a fence around your roof and Tzitzit. Rabbi Shimon exempts women from Tzitzit because it is a positive, time bound mitzvah
אמר רב אדא בר אהבה נשים חייבות בקדוש היום דבר תורה אמאי מצות עשה שהזמן גרמא הוא וכל מצות עשה שהזמן גרמא נשים פטורות אמר אביי מדרבנן א"ל רבא והא דבר תורה קאמר ועוד כל מצות עשה נחייבינהו מדרבנן אלא אמר רבא אמר קרא (שמות כ, ז) זכור (דברים ה, יא) ושמור כל שישנו בשמירה ישנו בזכירה והני נשי הואיל ואיתנהו בשמירה איתנהו בזכירה
Rab Adda b. Ahabah said : Women are under the obligation to recite Kiddush on [Sabbath] day by the ordinance of the Torah. But why, since it is a command the observance of which is dependent upon a certain point of time, and women are exempt from all commands of this class? Abbai answered : [Kiddush by women] is a Rabbinical ordinance. Rab said to him : But lo, [Rab Adda] mentioned it was "by the ordinance of the Torah"? And further, let us make all commands [of this class] obligatory upon women by Rabbinic authority! But, said Raba, [the correct reason why they have to "sanctify" the Sabbath is because] the Scriptures declare, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy" (Exod. xx. 8) and "Observe the Sabbath to keep it holy" (Deut. v. 12) — everyone who has to "observe" must likewise "remember"; and since women must "observe," so must they "remember."
(ט) נשים ועבדים וקטנים פטורין מן הציצית מן התורה ומדברי סופרים שכל קטן שיודע להתעטף חייב בציצית כדי לחנכו במצות ונשים ועבדי' שרצו להתעטף בציצית מתעטפים בלא ברכה וכן שאר מצות עשה שהנשים פטורות מהן אם רצו לעשות אותן בלא ברכה אין ממחין בידן .
Maimonides (b.1135 - d.1204)
Women, servants and minors are not required by the Torah to wear tzitzit. It is however a rabbinical obligation for every child who knows how to dress himself to wear tzizit may do so without reciting a blessing. Similarly, regarding the other positive commandments which women are not required to fulfill if they desire to fulfill them without requiring a blessing, they should not be prevented from doing so....
Toshvot Rashi: Rabbi Isaac Halevi (b.1847 - d. 1914) taught that one does not prohibit women to recite a b'racha over the sukkah and the lulav for when we say that women are exempt from all positive mitzvot which are contingent (for their performance) upon a specific time this means only that they are not obligated. But if they wish to place themselves under the yoke of the mitzvot that is their privilege and no one may interfere with them...Furthermore, since they wish to observe the mitzvah it cannot be done without a b'rachah...and there is no suggestions of a brachah l'vatala
הא נשים מעכבין - דפטורות לגמרי דמצות עשה שהזמן גרמא הוא וכי תקעי איכא בל תוסיף:
(Lived 1040 - 1105)
We do prevent women - because they are completely exempt from positive time-bound commandments, were they to blow the shofar, they would be transgressing "You may not add [to the Torah]!"
ואעפ"י שנשים וקטנים פטורים יכולין לתקוע ולברך ונראה דדוקא נשים כיון דיש להם דעת יכולין להכניס עצמן בחיוב.
Bach, Joel Sirkes, Tur Shulchan Arukh Hilchot Rosh hashana #589 (1561-1640)
Even though women are exempt, they can blow [the shofar] and say the blessing. And it seems that specifically women [can blow the shofar] since they have da'at, cognizance, and can enter themselves into the yoke of obligation.
Ran (1320-1376) Tractate Rosh Hashana 9b in the pages of the Rif
...therefore if women want to do all positive timebound commandments the option lies in their hand and we don't worry about adding extra mitzvot and a prohibited blowing.
It seems to me that the reason that [women] are exempt is that by their nature and the essence of their role in life, they are subject to spending their time running their households and raising and dealing with their children, and their time is not theirs. (Responsa Mishpetei Uziel, IV, inyanim kelaliyim 4)
Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel (1880 - 1953) Sephardi chief rabbi of Mandatory Palestine from 1939 to 1948, and of Israel from 1948 to 1954.
And that which the Torah exempted women from time-bound positive commandments… for the majority of women in the world are not rich and they have the responsibility of raising the children, which is the most important work for the sake of God and the Torah. Similarly, God implanted in the nature of all the species of animals that the females should raise their young, and even the human species is not excluded from this rule, for women are more naturally fit to raise children. So it was for this reason that the Torah was lenient in exempting them from the obligation of learning Torah and from time-bound positive commandments. (Iggerot Moshe, Orach Chayyim, IV, 49)
Rav Moses Feinstein (1895 –1986)
It seems to us much more likely that the Torah did not impose these mitzvot on women because it did not consider them necessary to be demanded from women… The Torah takes it for granted that our women have greater fervor and more faithful enthusiasm for their religious calling, and that they are in less danger than men of falling prey to the temptations that they encounter in the course of their lives. Accordingly, it was not necessary for the Torah to give women these repeated reminders to remain true to their calling, and warnings against moments of weakness, in contrast to men. (Rav S. R. Hirsch [b.1808-d.1888], Vayikra 23:43)