Original Women of the Wall

Sep 1, 2022 | Contemporary Issues, Jewish thought and practice

Written by Arnie Draiman

An Orthodox Jewish woman comes to the Kotel (the Wall) in Jerusalem – one of Judaism’s most holy sites, and she wants to pray, to reflect, to say a few words to the Higher Power, and say thank you for being alive.

But, she doesn’t want to do it alone. Indeed, while there are times for personal prayer, there are also times for the power of communal prayer. What is she to do?

The first-ever all-female “Orthodox-style” communal prayer service in the women’s section at the Kotel took place a few days before Chanukah 1988. The idea was that of Rivka Haut (z”l), an Orthodox feminist leader, activist for agunot (women stuck in marriage), scholar, and teacher. Other Orthodox feminist activists and women from all denominations of Judaism joined Rivka that morning including Norma Joseph, Bonna Haberman (z”l), Phyllis Chesler, and others.

The women living in Israel agreed to meet on a regular basis and enjoy the power of community in such a holy place. In general, it was a small, intimate, multi-denominational group of 10-15 women, and if a women’s group was visiting from overseas, they would often join in, creating a larger crowd. Occasionally, they were met with profound violence by those who objected to their presence.

The prayers were led and chanted in a Modern Orthodox manner, without saying the parts reserved for praying in a minyan (quorum of 10 men). Over time, as Orthodox rabbis and thought leaders began to research the topic (see note for details), various adaptations were adopted, for example, where a woman could say Mourner’s Kaddish at the end of services (and those who felt that this was being too lenient could leave, since it was already at the end of the prayers).

As the group grew, they felt they needed their own siddur, and produced one, with their tefila (prayer) policy clearly written inside. One of the agreed upon items was that a minyan of 10 women who wanted to say kedusha and kaddish was permitted – if there were 10 who wanted it. Reading from the Torah was always an integral part, but again, conformed to the Orthodox women’s prayer group rules which usually meant that it was seen as ‘learning’ not as ‘reading’ – that is, there were not the traditional aliyot with brachot for the women being called up to the Torah.

In 1989, the women raised money in the USA for a Sefer Torah, and it was donated to the group. Among those involved at the time was Susan Aranoff, an Orthodox woman, who believes that the group is a “symbol of Jewish unity at the Kotel.”  The women would bring the

Torah into the women’s section of the Kotel, but would usually read from it elsewhere nearby – either in the Jewish Quarter or at the old Robinson’s Arch area (before the more recent renovations there). Occasionally they would read Torah in the women’s section itself. And over time, some of the women started wearing tallitot (prayer shawls) – at first, hidden under their coats and then later, more in the open.

This was more or less the status quo for 20 years – a small group of women coming to the Kotel to pray together on a regular basis. In 2009, during prayer services on Rosh Chodesh Kislev, when they opened theTorah, the police were called in, and some of the women were detained. Following the breaking news of this event, the following month more than 200 women and some men showed up and despite the pouring rain, they stayed and prayed. And more police became involved, more media coverage, and the numbers continued to grow.

This led to serious discussions among the participants and the leaders of the group – some did not like the direction the group was taking and some wanted to make their voices heard even louder. By 2013, there was a split in the organization between these two camps. The more vocal ones, led by Anat Hoffman, were willing to accept the government’s offer of a compromise where the group could hold egalitarian services for women and men together at the new Robinson’s Arch plaza (renovated under the auspices of then Minister of Religion Naftali Bennett). This was part of the fight on behalf of the Reform and Conservative movements’ desire for equal access to the Kotel.

The original group wasn’t looking to compromise – they wanted a traditional-style service which would allow Orthodox women to participate and not an egalitarian one, a service for women only and not mixed, and they wanted it at the Kotel itself, not off to the side.

And hence, the new-old group, Original Women of the Wall (OWOW) was born. They decided to continue what they had been doing, not going on Rosh Chodesh, not seeking to compete, and keeping it open to women only. Some of the women now proudly wear both tallit and tefillin. 

They are now a small group – usually not bothered by the troublemakers at the Kotel, but certainly some derogatory comments are always thrown their way.

OWOW board member Aliza Berger says she feels “betrayed” by the split, that the breakoff group is not in line with the original intent of the group. OWOW wants all women to feel comfortable in their group at the Kotel, including Orthodox women who might be unwilling to pray in a mixed group with a non-traditional siddur (prayer book). Aliza continues, “Any woman who wants to go to the Kotel, pray, wear a tallit and tefillin should be able to do so.” And while some women attend both groups’ regular prayer services, fellow board member Cheryl Birkner Mack admits that she is “disappointed in the choices the other group has made.”

Aranoff says that when OWOW prays there, it is “just the sweet voice of Jewish women’s prayer winging its way aloft like a dove over the Kotel’s creviced stones,” paraphrasing from Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs) 2:14, “My dove, in the crevice of the rocks, hidden by the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is attractive.”  

Phyllis Chesler, who was with Rivka Haut that historical morning in 1988, recalls that “she asked me to open the Torah for the first time which fatefully wedded me to the eventual grass roots and legal struggle – as well as to studying Torah with Rivka.” Phyllis explains that the Israeli Supreme Court has ruled that women have won the legal right to pray “in our fashion but we’ve yet to consistently succeed on the ground. The Original Women of the Wall do not seek attention or publicity. The group is modest, learned, tries to be unobtrusive, and simply wants to pray in that sacred site with other women. Nowhere is this forbidden.”

Phyllis makes one more very important, very ironic point, stating that “were the women of OWOW to be treated with violence in any other country on earth it would be seen as anti-Semitic. Here in Israel, the fact that women want to pray in a group in public is considered a chillul Hashem – a disgrace.”

The group is modest, learned, tries to be unobtrusive, and simply wants to pray in that sacred site with other women. Nowhere is this forbidden.

Note:

Women’s role in prayer (and in Judaism in general) has been a hotly discussed topic for many years. Two of the leading Orthodox rabbis who are discussing it, understanding the sources for various minhagim (traditions) and what the halacha (Jewish law) says and doesn’t say are Rabbi Daniel Sperber and Rabbi Mendel Shapiro.

Rabbi Sperber is the Milan Roven Professor of Talmudic Research at Bar Ilan University and rabbi of Congregation Menachem Zion in the Old City of Jerusalem. In 1992 he received the Israel Prize, Israel’s highest award and is the author of Minhagei Yisrael, a seven-volume work.

Rabbi Shapiro holds B.A., M.S. degrees from Yeshiva University and a J.D. from Columbia University. He was awarded S’michah (Rabbinic Ordination) from Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University and currently practices law in Jerusalem.

Their book, Women and Men in Communal Prayer: Halakhic Perspectives, published in 2010, includes in-depth discussions about the centrality of communal prayer in Jewish life. Rabbi Sperber presents a halakhic justification for expanding the role of women in communal prayer services (“expanding” is not the same as 100% equal, as one would find in an egalitarian service). Rabbi Shapiro’s essays discuss the legal halachic sources which are examined and interpreted to permit women to lead parts of the service and participate in Torah reading,

For Rabbi Sperber, the key revolves around the issue of Kavod HaBeri’ot (human dignity) in encouraging fuller participation of women in communal prayer. The book treats the topic very fairly and includes two articles which oppose Rabbi Sperber’s thinking – one by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin and one by Professor Eliav Shochetman.

For further reading, the Darkhei Noam website has a full list of resources to explore, including Rabbi Shapiro’s extensive discussion regarding Torah reading by women (Qeri’at ha-Torah by Women: A Halakhic Analysis). Darkhei Noam, one of the largest partnership minyans in the world, is located in Manhattan, and they are committed to creating a prayer atmosphere that is halakhic, spiritual and inclusive – providing opportunities for women to lead many of its portions.

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