Until what age can a girl be brought into the mens side of a shul (assuming there is no objection to this by the kehal)?
Answer:
As the Sefer ‘Oz Ve-Hadar Levushah” (p. 346) mentiones, there is no fixed answer to this question.
According to some authorities, including the Mishnah Berurah, a girl is considered an ervah from the age of three, and therefore some are praticular not to brings girls to the men’s side from the age of three.
This is clearly not the common custom, the reason being that there is no concrete “prohibition” of davening in the same room as a girl, and the obligation is only that men and women should be separate.
Therefore, one should be careful that a girl who is old enough to raise eyebrows shouldn’t come into shul (perhaps 4-6, but depends on community), but there is no need to be particular for three year olds, in congregations that are not particular about this.
Where people are particular for it, one should be careful that the girl (even three) should not be wearing short sleeves (though many are not particular until older, based on the Chazon Ish).
