Women of the Brawl


Several days ago there was a very tragic scene that unfolded at the Kotel. What the Israeli press described as “a public brawl” took place as members of the ultra-orthodox communities tried to block the service that had been planned by “Women of the Wall.” WOW, as they are known, represents observant woman who wish to pray at the wall. Many of them wear tallitot and observe other rituals that are traditionally observed by males. The on-going friction between them and the Heridi community has often erupted in controversy leading to arrests and court orders.

This month the game changer came when an Israeli court ruled that Women of the Wall can legally hold services at the Kotel in any manner they wish. Needless to say, the Orthodox community has refused to recognize their rights to worship. Government officials have even suggested that the Kotel plaza now have three sections- “Men,” “Women,” and “Egalitarian.” This suggestion has done little to ease friction. The question of religious pluralism continues to be a thorn in the side of Israeli society. While the Orthodox rabbinate continues to use its political power to keep hold of authority, small steps have been taken. The real tragedy is that the situation only aggravates other social divisions in Israeli society.

“Jewish unity” has become a real buzz word lately- it alludes to some far off time in which all Jews can work together for the common good of our people. Under current circumstances such “unity” is a bad joke. What site is holier or more a focus of Jewish peoplehood than the Kotel? Yet even the Kotel is a battleground for Jews who just can’t agree on how to worship the God of Israel. Why is mutual respect and tolerance for your fellow Jew so elusive? I believe in Israel as a Jewish state- as an observant Jew that Jewish state must have a Jewish soul. Without Judaism a “Jewish state” becomes an ethnic caricature. But that Jewish soul has to be large enough to dwell in everyone. Putting the “Jewish” in Jewish state is not just the job of the ultra-right.

Women of the Wall deserve a place at the Kotel. Every Jew deserves a place at the Kotel. One of the things that always makes me proud to be a Jew is that we are a people which has never been embittered by the pain that history has inflicted upon us. That positive spirit has allowed us to exist under the worst of circumstances- it also has been the spirit of constant spiritual growth. To see Jews attacking other Jews on religious grounds is a sign that we are slipping backwards, that the impetus to withdraw from the world is out pacing the honest need to confront the world and modernity itself. Those who act as if Judaism could exist in a vacuum are condemning Judaism to the status of a relic.

Women of the Wall represents another step in the Jewish confrontation with modernity. It may be a battle but it is a battle that we have always confronted and, so far, we have won. I hope somewhere out there we can find a voice to reconcile the growing gap between modernity and tradition.



This article appeared in the South Florida Jewish Journal