Jerusalem – The rabbi of Judaism’s holiest prayer site has backed a proposal to establish a prayer section for mixed-gender worship, a groundbreaking motion that could end a decades-old fight against Orthodox monopoly of the area.
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Western Wall rabbi Shmuel Rabinovich told Army Radio Wednesday that he does not like non-Orthodox prayer, but would tolerate it in a separate section to end intra-Jewish fighting at the site. Orthodox prayers ban men and women from worshipping together.
The semi-governmental Jewish Agency said Tuesday it drafted a plan to expand the Western Wall plaza to create a permanent area for mixed-gender and women-led prayer. The plan will be presented to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu asked the agency to draft a solution after an uproar over the arrests of liberal female worshippers.
This is in part our own fault as frum Yidden. We tend to fight and react from fear rather than respond and teach with compassion. I began my journey to Torah and mitzvos in a pluralistic setting, by the way. The more Torah I learned, the more mitzvah I took on – and I moved on to a frum environment. The Yidden that influenced me did so from love and care. Same with this group. Out down the rocks of condemnation and pick up the cholent pot of Kiruv.
hashem yerachaim
leave it to liberal women to mess up a good thing
So it might work out for them. But a word to the wise, do not daven in a mixed company unless you want the prayer that you insert in the wall to read “with soon regret”.
Then they can puts a treife McDonald’s next to the area, open 7 days just like they did at Masada.
The Women of the Wall’s(WOW) existence is to be opposed to orthodoxy. Give them what they want and their need to exist disappears- it is the confrontation, more than the need to pray, that fires them up. So what if, in the women’s section, the WOW had talis , t’fillin and sefer torah- they are on the women’s side and have no impact on the men in the men’s section- the frum women will see them as “rebels” and after a period of time- pay no attention to them. The WOW just need to be respectful and not overly vocal in order not to disrupt/disturb anyone else’s right to pray in a dignified manner.
Orthodoxy needs to learn this lesson from history- sometimes you have to ignore something so that it will go away-learn to pick your fights (not every issue is earth shattering). Had they practice this early in our history -just perhaps – our history would be totally different- and for the better.
Now the other irreligious groups are going to ask for an area for egalitarian prayer services. If the women off the wall can have a section can’t all deviant strains also demand equal treatment.
And now you understand why Hashem allows the moon worshipping followers of allah to control the Har HaBayit. Imagine the desecration that would go on there if it was controlled by Medinat Yisrael ! Enough said
the ultra Orthodox do no and did not participate in capturing the wall do not want to provide bochirem to protect the wall from attack but want to control it and say who should daven there. Not sure but that may be one of the issues that people resent in Israel
The Jewish State is no longer Jewish (Never really was anyway). Might as well make peace with the Arabs and give them control over Jerusalem. They will probably have the sense to keep prayer areas separate according to religious tradition.
Why is it that a big tsimmis is being made out of this issue? As long as the women have a mechitzah, what is the problem? I don’t find this to be an issue, as much as the swarms of beggars, photographers, and others who harass the men, at the Kotel, while they are trying to daven. The Israeli Police, and the Rabbi of the Kotel should be concerned about that problem. There are those who are not genuinely in need of funds, but make a living out of “schnorring”!
History shows that it was never an issue in judiasim about mix gender in public places.
Even more, the yearly event in miron on lag be’omer was mixed, 101 years ago on lag be’omer the roof of the maareh (building) collapsed 13 were killed and a lot wounded, and a few rabbunim wanted to ban from then to be a mixed affair, but most frum rabbunim were against it, they were scared to change an old mesoreh, and it didn’t change then.
I looked on a lot old public pictures from before WW2, funerals weddings etc. its always mixed from the frummest down.
Watch the big wedding in munkatz how men and woman pushing together.
I think its started only after WW2 a new way of chasiddus, and even some places divided sidewalks, i’m not totally against public divided gender, but to go so extremely on buses in israel or by the kotel, I think we have bigger problems in yiddishkeit to fix before this one.
To comment #9 yaakov doe: deviant strain? Wow, that’s a direct quote from dear adolf, as he referred to us. By the way, until 1948 Jews davened at HaKotel mixed men AND women. There are numerous photos & accounts of this. Mixed davening in one part of the wall would be a great mitzvah for those who want to honor HaSh’m w dignity.
I have news for you. Israel is a JEWISH STATE! You don’t need a green card to come and live there when your host antisemitic country throws you out. Over a million Jewish people were welcomed from the FSU – they are not living on the street! They were integrated, housed, fed and educated. You know, in NY, when someone donates to a yeshiva, they are honored. When the Israeli government gives money to yeshivas, they are demonized. Bibi Netanyahu’s brother lost his life as an IDF member going to Uganda to save the people who were held hostage on the airplane in Entebbe because they were Jewish. No one else was going to save them. We do not know God’s ways, but just learning, was not enough to save the Yeshiva in Chevron in 1929. H”YD It is 2013 – life is not perfect – but we have our own country. All Jewish people everywhere are safer as a result. And, if you have any doubt that Israel today is a miracle, watch the land turn green and produce the most beautiful flowers and fruits. It’s God’s wonder. Appreciate. Daven for the klal. Help out if you can. Don’t you say that Israel is not a Jewish State.
Kever Rochel did not have separate areas, nor a mechitsa, until relatively recently.
Could someone explain what the halachic problem would be with having one area near the kotel that did not have a separation between women and men?
Does the entire Kotel area have the din of a Beis HaKennesses?
Why is the Kotel Plaza different?
(No one is talking about taking away the separate areas for those, like myself, who prefer it. So, what’s so terrible about having a mixed area as well?
Wow! I’m pleasantly surprised that such a resonable proposal can emanate from the chareidi-controlled group running the place. With more voices of moderatino such as this, maybe there is a future for the charedi that is not identical to that of the taliban.
The rabbi at the kotel has no backbone. He doesn’t like mixed gender “worshipping”. It is not a matter of liking but a matter of doing what is right. Jewish law forbids men and women praying together without a mechitza-it has been like this for generations until some people decided to deviate from Jewish law.
This does not bring peace-it brings shame to the Kotel, to Hashem, and to the Jewish people. If we want our prayers answered, we should do what is right in Hashem’s “eyes”-which is to follow the halacha and stop trying to do things in the name of “peace”.
If this so-called jewish women not observing shabbos & other Torah laws why they want directly daven by the kotel? Let them pray by the tal aviv beaches
“And, if you have any doubt that Israel today is a miracle, watch the land turn green and produce the most beautiful flowers and fruits. It’s God’s wonder”
Really, and I thought it was all do the hard work by groups like the Hovevei Zion and, by the pioneers in the different aliya’s during the early 1900’s.
This is long overdue. Women are just as equal as men! Make this happen Bibi.
#37 When the Torah refers to the Cohanim doing the service in the Bais Hamikdash, does it include women? No. Men and women have different roles in Judaism and we have to accept that G-d gave the public roles of sacrifices and of public prayer services to men. Why do people want to feel that Hashem does not hear the prayers of a Jewish woman behind the mechitza? We learn from Chana that a woman’s prayer is as important as a man’s; even though there are different obligations between men and women in prayer do not indicate women’s inferiority. Chana prayed quietly and women do not have to make a fanfare for their prayers to be accepted.
It does not solve a problem.Presently there are 2 sections: one for men another for women.Sharansky wants to open an area of the Wall where there are archeological digs and tourist visitors, who pay fees, for the prayer.by non orthodox and various groups.
It will take time, at least a few years.Also, not all the reform, conservative, etc. will go to this new 3d section of the Wall.If they wanted they could’ve done it.
But very few people pray there.