JERUSALEM - The 25-hour fast Tisha B’Av was ending at sundown. Jews from all over Jerusalem and Israel came to the Western Wall to pray. After passing through metal detectors, the men, women and children flooded the plaza before entering their respective gendered sections — a tradition that dates back 1,500 years.
The women’s section is full of women in skirts to their knees. Only two female Israeli soldiers are wearing pants. Many women have wigs or head scarves on, traditionally ultra-Orthodox women cover their hair. The section is quiet except for the singing and praying that can be heard from the men’s section, which is separated by a metal barrier that’s about six-feet tall. Women and children gather by the barrier to listen and quietly pray along with the men. They look through the slots in the metal and the children climb atop chairs to see over barrier.
Women and children during a ceremony at the Western Wall to mark the end of Tisha B’Av, a fast that mourns the destruction of the First and Second temples, among other Jewish tragedies. The women are looking from the women’s side to the men’s side. (Photo by Claire Cleveland)
Women and children during a ceremony at the Western Wall to mark the end of Tisha B’Av, a fast that mourns the destruction of the First and Second temples, among other Jewish tragedies. The women are looking from the women’s side to the men’s side. (Photo by Claire Cleveland)
This difference in the way men and women are allowed to pray at the Wall has lead to clashes between various movements within the Jewish religion. An organization of women founded in 1988, called the Women of the Wall, (WOW) is fighting against some of the prayer rules. The group has advocated for the creation an egalitarian section at the Western Wall, which was halted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in June.
Prayer rules at the Western Wall are set by an Orthodox government rabbi, currently Shmuel Rabinovitch, but have been passed down from former rabbis. Women and men pray separately at the wall, as they are separated in many Orthodox synagogues, and women are not allowed to pray with Torah scrolls, wear a tallit (prayer shawl) or tefillin (small leather boxes containing pieces of paper with Torah verses), nor can they practice tefilla (praying aloud) at the Western Wall.
The four T’s, as they are called by WOW, is one of the linchpins in the group’s ongoing fight to make legislative changes at the Western Wall. WOW’s executive director, Lesley Sachs, said that women praying with the four T’s is not against Jewish Law, but rather only against rules at the WesternWall, and have resulted in women, Sachs included, being arrested and detained.
"Who says the custom of the place is the Ultra-Orthodox custom? The custom of the place is also the Women of the Wall’s custom”
Prayer rules at the Wall are set by an Orthodox government rabbi, currently Shmuel Rabinovitch, but have been passed down from former rabbis. Women and men pray separately at the wall, as they are separated in many Orthodox synagogues, and women are not allowed to pray with Torah scrolls, wear a tallit (prayer shawl) or tefillin (small leather boxes containing pieces of paper with Torah verses), nor can they practice tefillah (praying aloud) at the Wall.
The Four T’s, as they are called by WOW, is one of the linchpins in the group’s ongoing fight to make legislative changes at the Wall. WOW’s executive director, Lesley Sachs, said that women praying with the Four T’s is not against halakhah, or Jewish Law, but rather only against rules at the Wall, and have resulted in women, Sachs included, being arrested and detained.
Lesley Scahs wearing a custom made tallit that features symbols of Israel and symbols of women, such as the color scheme, pomegranate
fruits and birds. She is holding a prayer book that she said is accepted by women from various forms of Judaism. (Photo by Claire Cleveland)
“The battle has been for the Four T’s. The Israeli government passed legislation, and this legislation is important because we were arrested afterwards based on that legislation,” Sachs said. “It was an amendment to the law of the Holy Places, which says that anyone who prays at the Western Wall, not according to the custom of the place and in a way that can offend others, can be put in prison for up to six months or can pay a fine. Who says the custom of the place is the ultra-Orthodox custom? The custom of the place is also the Women of the Wall’s custom,” she said.
To understand the customs of the Western Wall, it is important to understand its history. The Western Wall is the last remaining wall of the First Jewish Temple, which was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C., and the fall of the Second Temple, which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. The Western Wall is a kind of retaining wall for the Temple Mount, which is the holiest site in Israel, but is currently under Muslim rule and is a highly contentious place for Jews to practice. Thus, the Western Wall is the holiest site where Jewish prayer is legally allowed.
So while it can be agreed upon that the Western Wall is a national holy site, counter-groups, such as Women for the Wall (W4W), which is lead by ultra-Orthodox women, argue that the Western Wall is a national holy site and a synagogue. The distinction may seem small, but the issue is whether this “synagogue” is ultra-Orthodox or if it this holy site belongs to all Jews including the liberal and reform movements.
According to Leah Aharoni, co-founder of the Women for the Wall movement, “For Israelis, even secular ones, Judaism equals orthodox Judaism. When secular Israelis want to attend a synagogue or celebrate a life cycle event, they attend an Orthodox synagogue or invite an Orthodox rabbi,” she wrote in an email.
However, Aharoni does not believe that the Wall is only for Orthodox Jews. She wrote that everyone - Orthodox or not - is welcome to pray at the Western Wall, the distinction is in how an organized prayer is carried out.
Children peer over the wall (Photo by Johanna Huckeba)
Girl looks over to the men's side (Photo by Johanna Huckeba)
"WOW members (and their reform supporters in the US) have not only called for breaching the existing custom, but have called for the dismantlement of the separation between men and women,” she said. “Which would effectively mean that the Western Wall can no longer serve as a traditional synagogue, as recognised by the majority of Jews around the world.”
As stated by Aharoni, if this dismantlement were to occur, it would mean that the Jewish people would lose this prayer site.
Both women touch on the issue at the Western Wall as extending beyond women’s equality. Although they disagree on what equality for women within Judaism is, they can agree that these changes do mean a change for Israel as a whole. The changes at the Western Wall could extend to changes in how marriages and burials are handled, currently to be recognized by the state, a marriage or burial must be performed by an Orthodox rabbi.
In a country that lacks a separation between church and state, and which was founded on the idea that this land and all its holy sites are the rightful home of the Jewish people, can modern and reform movements within the religion be accepted? Or do they threaten the tradition and fabric of a people that have fought for a home for so many years?