Women of the Wall

Description

An Inspiration to All Who Struggle for Religious and Gender Equality

“Our souls yearn to pray, in peace, in the sacred place, to read from our holy Torah, together with other Jewish women.”
—from the

In Israel today, the historic Western Wall, known as the Kotel, a holy site for Jewish people, is under the religious authority of the Orthodox rabbinate. Women have only limited rights to practice Jewish ritual in its precincts.

This passionate book documents the legendary grassroots and legal struggle of a determined group of Jewish women from Israel, the United States, and other parts of the world—known as the Women of the Wall—to win the right to pray out loud together as a group, according to Jewish law; wear ritual objects; and read from Torah scrolls at the Western Wall.

Eyewitness accounts of physical violence and intimidation, inspiring personal stories, and interpretations of legal and classical Jewish (halakhic) texts bring to life the historic and ongoing struggle that the Women of the Wall face in their everyday fight for religious and gender equality.

Prayer for Women of the Wall Rahel Jaskow Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Phyllis Chesler and Rivka Hautxix part i Women Who Pray at the Kotel: In Their Own Words Drama in Jerusalem Bonna Haberman Encountering Fear Sharon Pikus. A Personal Account Rahel Jaskow Interview with Anat Hoffman Phyllis Chesler Sacred Tears Rabbi Geela Rayzel Raphael Torah Dedication Ceremony Harriet Kurlander Tzitzit and Tefillin at the Kotel Haviva Ner-David The Kotel and Me Danielle Bernstein Reawakening Karen Erlichman With Strings Attached: A Jew Wears a Tallit to the Kotel Bat Melech (Pseudonym) A Worshiper from Brazil Celia Szterenfeld. Turning Point Rebecca Schwartz My Daughter's Bat Mitzvah Sue Polansky. part ii Legal and Political Analysis The Fight against Being Silenced Frances Raday Scenes from a Courtroom Susan Alter The Lawsuit: –Present Miriam Benson Stone Song Rabbi Myriam Klotz. The Politics of Women of the Wall Susan Aranoff Dominion of Arrogance Leslie J. Klein part iii Denominational Views Why? A Reform Rabbi’s Answer Rabbi Helene Ferris Encompassing Diversity Beryl Michaels Against the Wall Rabbi Deborah J. Brin My Father’s Tallit Aliza Metzner A Wall That Matters and Others That Don’t: A Meta-Denominational View Shulamit Magnus A Moving Experience Sandy Starkman Impressions Harriet Pass Freidenreich Meditation and Conflict: A Journey on Paper Lilly Rivlin Chodesh Tov Gavrielle Levine The Tears of My Soul Rabbi Susan Grossman Beyond My Wildest Dreams Marion Krug. part iv Halakhic Theory and Ritual Objects Orthodox Women’s Spirituality Rivka Haut Shema B’Kolah: On Listening to Women’s Voices in Prayer Norma Baumel Joseph. Women and Ritual Artifacts Vanessa L. Ochs Toward a Psychology of Liberation: Feminism and Religion—a Conclusion Phyllis Chesler Epilogue: Rosh Chodesh Adar Chaia Beckerman, Betsy Kallus, and Rahel Jaskow A Chronology of Women of the Wall Notes Suggested Reading About the Contributors Index About Jewish Lights Photograph Section

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Women of the Wall
• Phyllis Chesler
• Western Wall
• Judaism
• Religion
• Kotel

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 02 juillet 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781580237352
• Langue: English

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for the State of Israel
CONTENTS
Prayer for Women of the Wall
Rahel Jaskow
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Phyllis Chesler and Rivka Haut
PART I Women Who Pray at the Kotel: In Their Own Words

Drama in Jerusalem
Bonna Haberman
Encountering Fear
Sharon Pikus
A Personal Account
Rahel Jaskow
Interview with Anat Hoffman
Phyllis Chesler
Sacred Tears
Rabbi Geela Rayzel Raphael
Torah Dedication Ceremony
Harriet Kurlander
Tzitzit and Tefillin at the Kotel
Haviva Ner-David
The Kotel and Me
Danielle Bernstein
Reawakening
Karen Erlichman
With Strings Attached: A Jew Wears a Tallit to the Kotel
Bat Melech (Pseudonym)
A Worshiper from Brazil
Celia Szterenfeld
Turning Point
Rebecca Schwartz
My Daughter s Bat Mitzvah
Sue Polansky
PART II Legal and Political Analysis

The Fight against Being Silenced
Frances Raday
Scenes from a Courtroom
Susan Alter
The Lawsuit: 1989-Present
Miriam Benson
Stone Song
Rabbi Myriam Klotz
The Politics of Women of the Wall
Susan Aranoff
Dominion of Arrogance
Leslie J. Klein
PART III Denominational Views

Why? A Reform Rabbi s Answer
Rabbi Helene Ferris
Encompassing Diversity
Beryl Michaels
Against the Wall
Rabbi Deborah J. Brin
My Father s Tallit
Aliza Metzner
A Wall That Matters and Others That Don t: A Meta-Denominational View
Shulamit Magnus
A Moving Experience
Sandy Starkman
Impressions
Harriet Pass Freidenreich
Meditation and Conflict: A Journey on Paper
Lilly Rivlin
Chodesh Tov
Gavrielle Levine
The Tears of My Soul
Rabbi Susan Grossman
Beyond My Wildest Dreams
Marion Krug
PART IV Halakhic Theory and Ritual Objects

Orthodox Women s Spirituality
Rivka Haut
Shema B Kolah : On Listening to Women s Voices in Prayer
Norma Baumel Joseph
Women and Ritual Artifacts
Vanessa L. Ochs
Toward a Psychology of Liberation: Feminism and Religion-a Conclusion
Phyllis Chesler
Epilogue: Rosh Chodesh Adar 5762 (2002)
Chaia Beckerman, Betsy Kallus, and Rahel Jaskow
A Chronology of Women of the Wall
Notes
Suggested Reading
About the Contributors
Index
Photograph Section

About the Editors
Copyright
Also Available
About Jewish Lights
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Prayer for Women of the Wall
MAY IT BE YOUR WILL , our God and God of our mothers and fathers, to bless this prayer group and all who pray within it: them, their families, and all that is theirs, together with all women s prayer groups and all the women and girls of Your people Israel. Strengthen us and turn our hearts to serve You in truth, reverence, and love. May our prayer be as desirable and acceptable before You as the prayers of our holy foremothers Sarah, Rivkah, Rahel, and Leah. May our song ascend to Your Glorious Throne in holiness and purity, like the song of Miriam the Prophet and Devorah the Judge, and may it be as a pleasant savor and sweet incense before You.
And for our sisters, all the women and girls of Your people Israel: let us merit to see their joy and hear their voices raised before You in song and praise. May no woman or girl of Your people Israel or anywhere else in the world be silenced ever again. God of Justice, let us merit justice and salvation soon, for the sanctity of Your name and the restoration of Your world, as it is written: Zion will hear and be joyful, and the daughters of Judah rejoice, over Your judgments, O God. And as it is written: For Zion s sake I will not be still and for Jerusalem s sake I will not be silent, until her righteousness comes forth like great light and her salvation like a torch aflame.
For Torah shall go forth from Zion and the word of God from Jerusalem. Amen, selah.
- RAHEL JASKOW
Preface
WE, THE WOMEN OF THE WALL , are engaged in a lawsuit against the State of Israel and the Ministry of Religion and in a grassroots struggle on behalf of Jewish women s religious rights. As a group we remain poised between opposing realities. Some think that we are unacceptably religious and therefore reactionary. They do not understand why we care so much about prayer, the Kotel, or God. Jewish fundamentalists think that we are unacceptably radical, secular, and heretical; they believe we want to overthrow religious Judaism.
We do not want our readers to think that we are anti-Israel or anti-religious Judaism. On the contrary. Most of us are quite religious. We are also feminists who are committed to tolerance, modernity, and democracy. We are also Zionists who dearly love the State of Israel. We want Israel to fulfill its potential as a haven for the Jews of the world, so that all, including Jewish women, may find in Israel a true spiritual home, a holy place where all who wish may approach God and pray in peace.
How we present our struggle for religious freedom remains an abiding tension. On the one hand, we hesitate to criticize Israel as a theocracy, since it is far more enlightened than the rest of the Middle East. In fact, for this reason, we expect justice to ultimately prevail in this matter of women s religious freedom. Since Israel has always been harshly and unjustly judged by anti-Jewish forces in the world, it is emotionally wrenching to present our grievances in the court of public opinion. Despite these misgivings, we have chosen to tell our story because it constitutes an important chapter in the evolution of Jewish history and Jewish justice. We also want to preserve the story of women s heroism and faith, which might otherwise remain unknown as has much of Jewish women s spiritual history.
The world has changed dramatically, perhaps even completely, since we began work on this volume. Islamic terrorists have declared war on America and on the Western world. Western values-including freedom of religion and women s rights-are under deadly attack. Violence in Israel is a heartbreaking, daily occurrence. Our hopes for peace have not yet been realized. Hate speech against Israel and against Jews has increased alarmingly, as have anti-Semitic acts all over the world. Like all nation-states, Israel is imperfect. Nevertheless, it still remains a lone voice in the Middle East for modernity and democracy.
Although we have sued the State of Israel, we also understand that Israel is the only country in the Middle East where individuals could actually bring such a lawsuit, live to tell the tale, and prevail in Israel s Supreme Court, as we have done. Comparable lawsuits probably do not exist in the Muslim and Arab world, where any radical criticism of the state religion is unthinkable.
Post-9/11, the world is no longer the same; it may never return to normal. The safety and peace of mind that Americans and Westerners once took for granted are no longer ours. Now, we are all Israelis, targeted for suicidal and homicidal terror by those who resent our very existence, despise our way of life, and are ready to sacrifice their children in God s name-the very act that God stopped our forefather Abraham from committing, which established an ethical norm.
The Midrash ( Yalkhut Shimoni , Pinchas 27) teaches that when the five daughters of Tzelafchad approached Moses to demand their inheritance, the Israelites had not yet entered or conquered the land. These daughters chose a moment of national collective doubt and fear to inspire courage and faith in the people by demanding their future rights to a land not yet conquered. As daughters, and in the absence of sons, they insisted on their inheritance rights; God informed Moses that their demand was justified.
We too believe that the State of Israel will survive and will achieve peace with its neighbors. That is why we choose to stake our rightful claim now, to ensure freedom of religion and a just future for our children and grandchildren and for the coming generations. To that end, we dedicate this book and this struggle to the State of Israel.
Acknowledgments
WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK Gavriel Z. Bellino for his invaluable assistance and support. The Midrash ( Yalkhut 234) teaches that when the children of Israel left Egypt and reached the Reed Sea, the angel Gavriel stood with them and protected them like a Wall. He held back the turbulent waters and prevented the Israelites from drowning. So too has our Gavriel held back the waters of chaos and endless detail from engulfing us. His sturdy, devoted presence, his standing with us, enabled us to complete this volume. In addition to his advice and superior technical expertise, he sustained us with divrei Torah , wonderful Jewish music, and a sweetness of spirit.
Rivka: I would like to thank Phyllis Chesler, my co-editor, my friend, and chevrutah , for being at my side during my husband s illness and for extending a warm and helping hand after his death. Phyllis had to take over my work on this volume for many months when I was unable to work, and she did so with kindness and grace.
My wonderful daughters and their husbands, Sheryl Haut and David Rosenberg, and Tamara Weissman and Seth Weissman, were always with me during a time of great sadness for us all. I am eternally grateful to them for everything. To my grandchildren, Ariel Pesach Rosenberg, and Ayelet Medka Rosenberg, and Esther Eleanna Weissma