Jerusalem – Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, the official rabbi of the Kotel, or Western Wall, spoke out sharply today against a group of women who arrived earlier at the Wall accompanied by the media to desecrate its sanctity with provocative actions.
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The report of the incident, posted on the Hebrew-language Chareidi news site Ladaat.net, did not specify what those “provocative” actions consisted of.
In his remarks, Rabbi Rabinovitch said that “these women who came to protest the Jewish tradition of group prayer are forcing their personal beliefs on the public”.
“The Jewish Nation will be redeemed in the merit of righteous women, but their innovations can be respected and left outside this holy place… it is incumbent upon all of us to condemn them and do whatever possible to keep this holy place from becoming a place of violence and divisiveness as they would like it to be.”
This rebbe is out of control….last week he declared war on the pope..this week he is at war with yiddeshe women who wanted to daven together as a group (NO, I don’t want to debate halacha over whether women have a chiyuv to daven or whether they can put on a tallis)…next week what will it be, no one with a grey bekeshe may daven by the kotel…he has no right to dictate to yidden how they should pray as long as they don’t disturb others…
you must understand thes are very pluralistic women whoare very libralistic and resepect other peoples beliefs and feelings they where just trying to talk to g-d in away he hates
#1 i’m afraid your out og control. do you know exactly what thet wanted? thepope issue was discussed already. are you a poisek (vehureicho eiras hashem) do know what the is the halacha?
#5 ..unpopular with heretics, not temimusdike ehrliche noshim tzidkonious which they are far, fa waway from
Did these women want to pray with a mixed gender minyan at the kotel? Did they want to have a woman lead the service, and have a woman read the torah?
#6 it goes hand in hand those that doesnt bother the shesu vearuv by the holy kosel, such breach of kedusha what these naoshim chatzufos want dont bother then either and visa versa one group is from orthodox and up the other is from MO and down. you figure whish is which .and thats the the same with all subjects that has to do with hashkafos ,all articles
#9 ..klutz, so maybe we shuld be mechallel shabbos because some soldiers thas were killed were not religious…unbelievable what ignorant reasoning you come jup with!!
Rabbi Rabonitz is the rabbi for all jews, not just charaidim. i think woman can daven together as long as its done on their side. why does yiddishkeit always have to be negative, why cant it be positive.
The Feminist are taking over. All they care about is Their Rights (Them-self). Look where our society is going out of control. The divorce rate is over 50%. There are more teenage drug addicts and teen pregnancies then in previous years. Life is out of control, and it all started in the 60’s with the feminist movement. When Women don’t do what women historicaly always did That’s when you see a rise in divorce, teen drug addicts, Teen violence, Teen pregnancies etc. All because there is no mothers to raise these children.
” i think woman can daven together as long as its done on their side. “
Even if they have a minyan of women, have a woman lead the services, and have women read the torah and say kaddish out loud?
If anything is allowed, then what comes next, a Christian group wanting to have a public mass at the kotel?
Unfortunately, for this group feminism has become the religion and they attempt to bend or if necessary desecrate Judaism to accomodate their primary goal. It wreaks of avodah zorah.
Many frumme yiddin share your view of halacha but don’t share your view that the rabbonim have the right to dictate to others in EY how they must live in a democratic medinah (which is fortunately NOT a theocracy like Iran). Your views of why we are ain Galus are not universally shared and the notion that a varbeshe minyan and the kosel will delay z’man Moishiach is a myth.
Why can’t they simply build a REAL KOSHER MECHITZA … maybe 10′ tall and thereby give the women their own section.
Said mechitza should have sound-proofing.
Or there can be some sort of sound deadening devices installed so their noise does not interfere.
I don’t care if they are the most chareidi of the chareidi women, or if they are reform or baptist. If they don’t bother anyone’e davening, in we can’t see or hear them, that’s ok with me.
But, they certainly can not simply have free access to go anywhere, and interrupt other people’s davening.
By the way, whatever happened with the pope? Who won that issue?
these women are no better then the meshuganas of PETA the one who this its ok to equate eating meat like what the nazis did to the jews
call it what you want but its not Jewish
morei vrabosai, -the western wall of the temple mount IS NOT THE KOSEL MAROVEI -the kosel marovei is the westerly wall of the actual temple/ which is not at all visible today.it stood on the temple mount was pulled down in construction of various places of tumah by non jews.,at least 800 years ago. thank you nobody wants to tell the emmes.
Who cares which wall…the issue is the style of davening of these women at what most yiddin consider the KOSEL MAROVEI and the rights of this rabbi to dictate how they should daven
the kotel belongs to everyone and not just intolerant selfish haredim
A group of about 15 women with and a reporter from a U.S. conservative jewish weekly went into the women’s side of the kotel and tried to daven as a group in a “minyan” with one or two wearing talesim. It was horrible to watch…men and women were fainting at such a chilul hashem…
zal be zein gazunt….
#39 ..you can talk till tomorrow… those who agree with those heretic woman are of the same kind. they dont believe in the torah min hashomayin and its ‘primitive’restrictions. now, since its so, what have they got with the bais hamikdosh?
#43 agin with this am haratzes..see end mes suckkah about separation. unbelievable when all you ulearnesd out there comewith your own shulchen urech!the gemmorah expoundshow the seperatin of men, women and you comewith your own toires.and #44 a new fad . one paskens from pictures
i’m pretty sure it’s not forbidden for a group of more than 10 women to daven together and make their own minyan….
as for a talis, it’s not forbidden for a woman to wear tzitzis. i don’t understand what the big deal is…
#47 ..do mean like saying kaddish d’rabbonon, kaddish sholm, borchu ,reciting the amidah..?from being pretty shure one cannot bend the shulchun urech. so if you can back up with halacha .not with stories you heard, read..
Since I was at the Kotel on Rosh Hodesh, I will tell you what happened. The group of women (called N’shot HaKotel/Women of the Wall) showed up as they do every month. They were joined by a group of visitors. A journalist also showed up. She was not invited by the group, but she was welcomed. I don’t know how anyone would have recognized her as a journalist.
There was NO interference with anyone else’s tefila. At a few points in the tefila the quiet singing became louder only because the group was fairly large (maybe 40 women). This lasted for a few moments at most. There was no Kaddish said, no Tora reading, etc at the Women’s section of the Kotel.
The Women of the Wall have been coming to the Kotel on Rosh Hodesh for the past 20 years, and indeed would like to read Tora there, but in contrast with what has been written, Women of the Wall have accepted a compromise and only read Tora, etc at Robinson’s Arch, an area designated for non-Orthodox tefila, even tho a significant number of the group identify as Orthodox.
We all have an obligation to judge other jews “le kav zechut” regardless of their gender or proported level of observance (and ability to write English correctly –spelling and syntax). This is especially true as we prepare for our exodus and freedom from slavery.
The status of the Kotel is unclear. Is it really a synagogue or a national (religious) site? If it’s the former, then R’ Rabanovitch has the power to act as the mara d’atra. If it’s really a public/national site, then there’s another (higher sic) power that determines the rules of use. For example, the Supreme Court issued a ruling outlining acceptable behaviour for the Women of the Wall group as well as the other ‘powers’ at the Kotel. Everyone there is required by law to observe its provisions.
In terms of how the women behave and if their presence is truly a distance (by virtue of their actual behaviour not not their mere presence), I’ll leave to better legal scholars. From what I’ve read, it sounds like the women sought to follow the law–not singing too loud, not reading Torah, donning tefillin–the issue was it was a big group. I also assume they were all dressed modestly–no binikis, low cut necklines, mini-mini skirts, and with head coverings.
What they do in the privacy of their own homes, is, frankly, none of our business. It’s between them and the “kadosh baruch hu”. If we want to start (excuse the expression here) “checking people’s tzizitot”, there’s no end to where it will stop. By definition, even people who live in Eretz Yisrael, can’t fulfill all the taryag mitzvot. Instead of looking at our people’s behaviour, let’s start with our own. Once we’re 100% sure that we’re truly be’seder, then, it’ll be time to evaluate others. In the meantime, back to the kloyz.