Jerusalem – The Women of the Wall activist group announced on Thursday that the Jerusalem District Police had instructed the group earlier this month that women would no longer be allowed to recite the Kaddish mourner’s prayer at the Western Wall.
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The announcement led to significant political opposition to the move however, and following consultations between MK Aliza Lavie, Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky, Rabbi of the Wall Shmuel Rabinowitz, the Jerusalem police and the Women of the Wall on Thursday, it was agreed that the prohibition on women saying Kaddish would not be enforced.
A spokesman for the Jerusalem District Police could not confirm the agreement, telling The Jerusalem Post that the matter was in the hands of Rabinowitz and that if he had agreed to a compromise deal with the concerned parties, the agreement would be conveyed to the Ministry of Justice and subsequently back to the police.
Rabbi Rabinowitz confirmed to the Post that an agreement had indeed been reached, according to which women will not be arrested for saying Kaddish at the Western Wall plaza.
The law forbids performing religious ceremonies “not according to local custom” or which “may hurt the feelings of the worshipers” at holy sites, including the Western Wall, which is interpreted by the police as meaning anything deviating from Orthodox practice.
Until now however, restrictions on specific prayers had not been enforced although they were specified in a directive issued by the Ministry of Justice in 2005, expounding on a Supreme Court ruling of 2003.
Asked why the decision was made at this time to implement the regulations on the Kaddish and Kedusha prayers, Rabinowitz said that the police directive had been intended to clearly set out what is and is not permitted, so that anyone arrested would not be able to claim they were not aware of the law. He added however that since the police cannot know what prayers are being said it was not a regulation that was realistically enforceable and had been ignored until now.
As Rabbi of the Western Wall and the Holy Sites of Israel, a position appointed by the Prime Minister’s Office, Rabinowitz is authorized to determine what the customs of the holy sites entail.
The police originally transmitted the updated restrictions in a letter to WoW Chairwoman Anat Hoffman dated March 14, to inform the group of the new measures ahead of its monthly prayer service at the Western Wall celebrating the new Jewish month which will take place on April 11.
Kaddish is an important part of Jewish prayer services, recited by someone who has been bereaved of a close family member in the year following that person’s death and on the annual anniversary of that date and in the presence of a quorum, ten Jewish men in Orthodox Judaism.
Non-Orthodox Jewish streams include women in a quorum, or minyan in Hebrew.
After the ban was rescinded late on Thursday, Hofman paid tribute to public pressure and that of “Jewish organization that led Rabinowitz to back down.”
“I salute the public pressure and I invite the Israeli public to sing the Hatikva at the Western Wall with WoW at this month’s prayer service,” she said.
“From here on, we will sing Hatikva at the end of every prayer service because it is time to liberate the Kotel.”
The restrictions on the Kaddish and Kedusha prayers were originally detailed in a letter from the Ministry of Justice to the Jerusalem police force in September 2005, stating that customs of the group including wearing prayer shawls, tallitot in Hebrew, and saying the Kaddish and kedusha prayers in a quorum of ten women were prohibited in accordance with the Supreme Court ruling of 2003 on the matter.
Although the restrictions on wearing tallitot have been enforced, especially in recent months, WoW Chairwoman Anat Hoffman says that the ban on reciting the Kaddish and Kedusha prayers was never implemented until now.
The police directive sent to WoW last month followed a letter sent by the Attorney-General’s Office to the police on March 11, noting that the restrictions from 2005 were still applicable.
WoW’s monthly prayer service at the Western Wall has become a flashpoint over the past 18 months, with women regularly detained at the site for wearing “male-style” tallitot.
WoW has been conducting an intensive campaign of late to bring attention to what the organization describes as “an unjust law.”
Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky, who has been designated by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to form a compromise on the matter, issued a statement to the press on Thursday “expressing his shock” at the recent directive from the police banning women from saying Kaddish.
According to the statement, Sharansky met with Rabinowitz on Thursday, who assured him that “contrary to the letter, no woman would be arrested for reciting Kaddish at the Western Wall.”
MK Aliza Lavie of Yesh Atid was also involved in reaching an agreement with Rabinowitz that the ban on women saying the prayers would not be enforced and that no-one will be arrested for doing so.
“This is a specific solution for a complex problem which needs to be resolved as soon as possible,” said Lavie, adding that she has been working on the issue since being elected to the Knesset in the January elections.
She emphasized that a solution can only be reached with mutual understanding and dialogue” and said that the Western Wall must not turn into a permanent source of conflict.
Hoffman blamed Rabinowitz for the prohibition on women saying Kaddish, saying it was “brought on solely by the hegemony and short-sightedness of Rabbi Rabinowitz.”
Rabinowitz was mentioned by the Ministry of Justice in its original letter of 2005 to the Jerusalem Police as having spoken directly with the ministry on the issue of the Kaddish and Kedusha prayers.
MK Meir Porush of the haredi United Torah Judaism party was also mentioned as having spoken with the Ministry of Justice on the matter at the time.
Rabinowitz called on all parties not to radicalize the Western Wall, saying that the site was holy and that all forms of protest should be conducted away from the site.
“The destruction of the Second Temple was caused by baseless hatred, we must not let similar destruction happen again,” the rabbi said.
“We have to guard the Western Wall from becoming a place of argument between extremist factions.”
Content provided as courtesy by The Jerusalem Post
There are some who knew long ago that tofasta maruba lo tofasta…somewhere along the way, the super-frum have lost sight of this.
As I posted:
The debate about women and tefilin is a long one.
In short,
The chinuch 421 says women can wear Tefilin if they want to.
The RambaM writes (Tztzis 3:9) that women can perform ANY mitzva they are not commanded to, so long as they don’t recite a Bracha.
The shulchan Aruch seems to opine the same.
However the Remah, discourages women from wearing Tefilin. (prevalent custom)
What is frightening is the blatant involvement of secular police infringing upon religious liberty. Being able to dictate what prayers one may or may not say should be something NO ONE wants.
Today, it’s women saying Kaddish. Tomorrow it will be that Siyum Kaddish with the wish of temple service restoration. After that, parts of the Shemonei Esrei will be banned, you know, the parts about restoring temple service, wishing for the return of a (non democratic) Davidic monarchy. Forget about morning Berachos -“shelo Assani Isha” Eved, Goy etc.
… Think i’m paranoid…last week the police arrested two men and a lamb for attempting to bring a Korban Pesach. Halacha notwithstanding, the secular police should NOT be involved in religious practice.
You know what, let them do it,ignore them and they will get tired and stop. They are clearly just doing it to show that they can and not out of some great desire to fulfil a mitzva (since it is obviously not a mitzva according to rov poskim)
Isn’t a woman saying Kaddish a lot less problematic than women laining from a sefer Torah or even having their hair uncovered if married?
how can we let these crazies do what they want if they want to make a show let them go to broadway
This parsha is Parshas Shemini. The wall women want to rewrite it that there are women cohanim who bring sacrifices and eat them too. I guess they know more than G-d about what is right.
The rabbi became a Rebitzen?
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein has a Teshuva (I saw it inside many years ago) about women wearing the Talis Katan (under the clothes). He says that it’s OK, but it should be a different style for the women. He ADDS the following very important condition: If a particular woman has performed ALL the Mitzvos that she must do, and because of her love of G-d and His Torah, she wants to go “the extra mile” and wear the Tsitsit, then it is good. HOWEVER, if she wants to do the Mitzvah of Tsitsit because she feels that the Torah is not “fair” to her and gives preference to men (in doing the Mitzvos), then this attitude is APIKORES, as she sees the Torah as not be complete or perfect.
It is completely clear that the WoW falls into the second category. If they fell into the first category, and did the Mitzvos for the love of G-d, they would not look for publicity, but do them in private or their own “shuls”. Have these women learned Kitzur Shulchan Oruch and understand and are careful in every Mitzvah Lo Taaseh? NO!! Therefore, it is APIKORSUS, for they are stating that the Torah is not perfect. We must protest this as strongly as possible!!
Secular responds:
“a frum Jew wouldn’t use a screen name “secular” “
Then by your logic, you must not be frum because you misrepresent yourself as a ‘Rebbe’.
To # 17, I agree with you, and in fact have seen Rav Moshe’s pesak (not too long ago). Point taken. However, my point was to the specifics of women engaging in mitzvos, not these women per se’.
My first point was and is that within mainstream orthodoxy, you find Rishonim with differing views on women’s performance of mitzvos.
As I stated earlier, the Chinuch Mitzva 421 writes women CAN wear Tefilin.
In Mitzva 152 (Parshas Shemini), he suggests women CAN pasken, and are forbidden to do so while intoxicated, like men.
In Mitzva 77 (Mishpatim) he brings opinions which allow women to pasken and serve as Judges.
That certain Am Haratzim on this site who purport to espouse Torah views and values cannot find their way in a RambaM or Chinuch much less have a civil and spirited discussion, is appalling and bespeaks their frumkeit.
more…
Realistically, aren’t there bigger issues in the Holy Land than what comes out of the pretty (well maybe not so pretty) ladies lips? I really think that the issue is not what these ladies do but what they are speaking against. They hurt the dignity of Jerusalem and overall they are not the friendly sort I would imagine. Oh but there is free speech!
mishugas- who made Rabinowits the official rabbi for all Jews?–the KOTEL belongs to every Jew not just the orthodox
um, i sort of agree with “secular” (though i must say ur screen name is interesting). but..
a woman may do a mitzva she is not chayav in. yet the shulchan aruch paskens that a woman should not be koreh btorah mipnei kavod hatzivur, (u brought the rambam) and the halacha is that even if they are mochel their kavod a woman cant. if she wants to put on teffilin no prob., though i would think her weird.
now about the wall: i think it makes perfect sense that the police should be used to enforce the decision of the rabbi (who by the way is a competent normal jew.) I am a lubavitcher, but im sure that any frum jew agrees that for these women to do this is a statment (a wierd one and ) a wrong one. and it should be stopped with any means at our disposal.
and by the way, a woman u are right can use a torah. but even a normal frum man will not use a torah randomly, even when everything was written on scrolls the students still used chumashim which do not have the kedushah of a full kosher torah