Jerusalem – Police on Thursday detained a woman at the Western Wall for over three hours after she and 65 other women from the Women of the Wall organization had concluded their Rosh Hodesh prayer service. Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben Ruby said that Houben was detained for wearing a men’s tallit, or prayer shawl, something forbidden for women by Israeli law at the Western Wall.
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Houben was fingerprinted and photographed in the police station, and released just over three hours later. She was also banned from going to the Western Wall for seven days, on pain of a NIS 3,000 fine. “I know I’ve been warned before and that it’s not allowed,” Houben said, “but I feel like I’m not doing anything wrong. In fact, I think I’m doing something right.”
“I continue to do this because I think change is necessary here,” she added.
Anat Hoffman, chairwoman of Women of the Wall, said that 47 of the 66 women who prayed at the service were also wearing prayer shawls, although they were of the more colorful and decorative type.
Houben was wearing a traditional black and white talit draped over her shoulders in the typical manner in which they are worn. The police said that according to a negotiated compromise, women are only allowed to wear “female” tallit, which are multi-colored tallit that are draped around the neck, Ben Ruby said. “Male tallit” are black and white or blue and white and worn folded across the shoulders.
However, Hoffman said she was unaware of any agreement related to the acceptable styles of wearing a tallit and added that she had never been approached within any forum to discuss the issue. Ben Ruby said that police asked Houben to remove the men’s tallit, and after she refused they detained her for questioning. She was released after three hours.
“They know it’s forbidden to wear a men’s tallit in the women’s section,” said Ben Ruby, adding that the rules were agreed on in order to protect the “holiness of the site.” In response to Houben’s detention, the group of women began singing in solidarity with her, but were told by police that their activities constituted an unauthorized protest which would be forcibly dispersed unless they stopped. Following the incident, Rabbi of the Western Wall plaza Shmuel Rabinovitch denounced the Women of the Wall as “a group of extremists,” conducting “a fanatical political struggle,” saying that it was extremely regrettable that “special interest groups” turn the Western Wall plaza into a place of strife.
“The Western Wall is a place for the unity of the Jewish people, not for the sharpening of differences,” said Rabinovitch. “There is no merit in any type of prayer which brings about dispute, argument, desecration of Gods name and desecration of the holiness of the Western Wall.” MK NItzan Horowitz of Meretz said that “the only provocation that occurred on Thursday at the site was from the extremist haredi establishment.”
“The Western Wall is a site of heritage for everyone and must be characterized by tolerance and openness,” the MK said.
Hoffman said that “the result of handing over the keys to Judaism’s holiest site to an extremist minority is that police have to waste their time dealing with fashion statements.”
According to a 2001 law, it is illegal for women to perform religious practices traditionally done by men in Orthodox Jewish practice at the Western Wall, such as reading from a Torah scroll, wearing tefillin or a tallit, or blowing a shofar, because it may offend the religious sensibilities of others. A similar incident occurred during last month’s Women of the Wall Rosh Chodesh service, when a policeman readjusted the tallit of rabbinical student Sarit Horwitz without her permission after he accused her of wearing it in the male style.
According to the Women of the Wall, three women were briefly questioned by the police and asked for their identity details after this service as well. In 2004, an area abutting the Western Wall – adjacent to Robinson’s Arch, but separate from the Western Wall plaza – was inaugurated as a place of prayer for non-Orthodox Jewish groups to pray as they wish.
However, the Women of the Wall claim that the site is inadequate since there are no chairs, prayer books or Torah scrolls available for use. Additionally, the prayer space is only open during operating hours of the Jerusalem Archaeological Park where it is located, and therefore is not available in the evenings.
Content is provided courtesy of the Jerusalem Post
This is absurd – and on so many levels:
1. Why would a woman want to wear a tallit in the first place?
2. Why has the Knesset enacted such a draconian law on the subject?
3. Who decided on the seven day ban from further visits to the Kotel?
4. Was the woman brought before any court of law?
5. If “the law” permits women to wear a “woman’s tallit” what logical objection can there be to them wearing “men’s tallitot”?
6. What actual harm is being done by tallit-wearing women draping the tallit over their shoulders?
7. Who – and is probably the most important question – whose faith is so distrurbed by women draping themselves in tallitot that they felt it so necessary to impose a threat of imprisonment?
Israel is rapidly and surely descending into religious fundamentalism, exactly like Iran and Saudi Arabia. What next: a religious enforcement police?
These mashiguam must have a connection to Korach’s wife.
good. Exactly the way it should be. Women making a scene over this should be arrested. All the feminism inj the world can’t make talisos for women.
Uncalled for.
Who defines what is a “woman’s tallit” and a “man’s tallit”? As part of our preparation for each of my son’s B’nei Mitzvah, we (son and I) designed the decorations for his tallit – elder son had arch and walls of Yerushalaim – acknowledging the 3,000 yr anniversary and younger son chose representative art for the shvatim, similar to Chagall’s windows in honor of his parsha. They are colorful, beautiful silk talitot. Mine (Mom) is a simple blue with silver lines – a geometric design. Would my sons be rounded up and carted off for wearing their own tallitot at the Kotel? Please remind me the definition of “Sinat Hinam” and its consequences – I think we are witnessing it in our generation…again.
I’m not sure if all these “Ahavat Yisrael” and pluralistic comments want to make me cry or laugh…you are all seem so understanding of people who are pushing their agenda to diminish Halacha or worse out right Kofrim… these people you understand and question “who is being hurt?”. Are you as understanding of someone going into a masque with Tallis and Tefilin? Or an atheist walking into a Church with a tee shirt that denounces G-d? Would you be as “understanding” of these people or would you say it is inciting and not respectful of peoples religious beliefs? Why is the Torah HaKedosha and the sensitivity around those who want to undermine it any less deserving of our vigilance?
And what if a man wears a snood?
“The Western Wall is a site of heritage for everyone and must be characterized by tolerance and openness,” the MK said.
Yes, openness by EVERYONE to honestly learn the true Torah laws that do govern this. Feel-good opinions do not necessarily equate to what is real or truly right.
Doing what’s right is not simply a matter of fulfilling a spiritual emotional. That may be a great motivator to be intellectually honest and learn through proper study these holy words, but sidestepping this effort and remaining blissfully ignorant is taking refuge in a very temporal veil.
They should wear a tallit, but make it pasul by removing one the tzitziot.
Based on the photo, by forcing her to remove the tallit, she is going to be less tznuah
The law is silly. But the women are purposefully being confrontational. Does it really hurt so much not to do your new-wave prayers at the Kotel that you’re gonna fight tooth and nail to get change for all at the Western Wall? Be respectful and pick a different forum for your fights.
whether one agrees with this woman or not should it be a criminal matter?
I can see the police removing the lady with the Tallis, as a riot might have ensued, causing injuries. However, the Israeli police should also do something about the beggars and photographers at the Kotel, who harass people who go there to daven, during the week. Many of the beggars are not poor per se, but they schnorrer money at the Kotel, as a living. The photographers who also harass people trying to daven, are very annoying. It seems that in the past, the authorities who police the Kotel, have looked the other way, regarding the above activity.
This is insanity that is promoted and enforced by a small cadre of mindless rabbonim led by Rabinovitch who come up with such crazy distinctions as “male” and “female” tallis. The Ebeshter is probably laughing or crying hysterically (not sure which one) at these contortions by his yidden to nitpick such trivia while more fundamental concerns of basic midos and hashkafah are ignored. Kol hakovod to the guardians of the asuylum to keep the inmates under control.
It’s ironic that this woman wants to wear a Tallis;
yet, she dresses immodestly.
Cmon, the issue had to be more than the wearing of the tallis, I would think there must have been some type of civil disobediance or maybe they wanted to wear the tallis and join in with the men’s minyon or were disrupting the other women praying at the kotel by organizing their own service. It couldn’t have just been the wearing of the tallis because nobody would have bothered them. People dress all different way including some that are not very modest and nobody bothers them.
I feel so sad for these women. They obviously do not realize the value of a Jewish women and are trying to feel worthy by adopting men’s obligation.
They are trying to be equal to men but don’t realize that that in itself makes them inferior.
Stop feeling inferior to men, because you aren’t and thus you will not feel a need to do what is obligated for them. You will feel valued by doing what is obligated for you.
With that being said I do think it’s an absurd law to prohibit woman from wearing a taalis, especially coming from a secular government who doesn’t prohibit when it comes to real transgressions, like Chillul Shabbos.
I always had a certain suspicion, and the more I hear about these “women of the wall” the better my suspicion is confirmed. And that is: those are the women who failed to acquire or hold on to husbands. And it is not all due to the lack of physical appeal. For the women of their limited physical appeal often successfully make up for it with good personalities. Not these ones.
I was taught that the Chumash doesn’t designate gender regarding tzitzit, just that it’s a mitzvah-aseh for the daytime which generally exempts women since it’s contingent on time. Didn’t Rashi, Rambam and the Rashba allow women to wear a tallit? I know there are others as well who’ve also allowed this practice as long as it was in the spirit of bringing one closer to H’Sh and not as a form of protest or a political statement. As such, who are the police to determine what the intent of any given woman praying at the Kotel?
Why is this law on the books? There are SO many other worries in the world that I can’t believe this is an issue. And I dare say that it’s dramas like this that turn many Jews away from Yiddishkeit altogether. Just when we need to come together as a people with respect and tolerance, once again the Orthodox are going out of their way to drive people away – at the very place where all Jews should feel welcome.
This is a good policy and any woman wearing mens garments at the wall should be detained.
“So many holy people who know exactly what pleases Hashem.”
Do you know better what pleases Hashem?
“So many quotations citing support for their close-minded argument.”
What is close-minded about following the Torah?