Halakhah for Bekhorot 89:60
מעשה בתלמידיו של ר' ישמעאל ששלקו זונה אחת שנתחייבה שריפה למלך בדקו ומצאו בה מאתים וחמשים ושנים
has additional limbs, having two hundred and eighty-one, all these joints are counted in the number of one hundred and twenty-five.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The Tanna therefore informs us that although one hundred and twenty-five is not the actual majority of limbs in the case of a woman who has additional fingers or the bare majority in the case of one who has less than the usual number of limbs, we accept the number in all cases as the greater number of limbs causes tent uncleanness.');"><sup>36</sup></span>
Peninei Halakhah, Women's Prayer
Women, who do not pray in the synagogue, do not hear the ḥazan, and therefore must practice one would when praying individually. That is, according to Ashkenazic custom, before beginning Shema she says, “Kel Melekh ne’eman” (“God, faithful King”). Even though women have 252 limbs, as the womb has two doors and two hinges (Bekhorot 45a), since all people have 248 limbs, perhaps it is most important to direct the blessings toward them, and the blessing will then continue to the limbs unique to women (Minḥat Elazar 2:28; Ha-elef Lekha Shlomo OḤ 120).
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy