Standing with Women of the Wall

The first time I celebrated Rosh Chodesh with Women of The Wall (WOW) at the Kotel was in 2013 during the WRJ Centennial Mission to Israel. I was fully prepared and expecting to be detained by police. At that time, women were being arrested simply for wearing a tallit – a prayer shawl! For over 30 years, Women of the Wall have led the struggle for women’s right to pray aloud, with tallitot, tefillin, and Torah, at the Kotel in Jerusalem. This is a cause I really believe in. No one, and I mean NO ONE, is going to tell me how to pray or not. Prior to that Rosh Chodesh, there were reports that the ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) were planning to arrive in larger numbers than usual to protest WOW’s presence, and we really did not know what to expect. I emailed home to warn my husband and parents that it might make the news if it was really bad, and I’d be in touch as soon as I was able after it was all over. My husband, knowing there was no point in saying anything, said nothing. Other parents might have told me to be careful. Not mine. The email I got from my dad was essentially—You Go Girl!

I had several reactions to the experience of being at the Wall (no one was detained, by the way). When all was said and done and we left the wall, I realized I had been incredibly stressed and afraid; I didn’t realize it until I no longer felt that way. I also knew the exhilaration of truly standing up for something in which you believe brings. I was, simply put, high as a kite. And lastly, I realized my parents are awfully cool.

The next time I prayed with Women of the Wall was in February 2020, on another WRJ Mission. It was about nine months after the death of my dad. This time, there was no fear of detention, as women were no longer being arrested for wearing tallitot, although they were, and still are, prevented each month from praying aloud and reading Torah by ultra-Orthodox extremists who intentionally swarm and crowd the Kotel, screaming, whistling, spitting, kicking in a concerted effort to disrupt WOW’s prayer service. The fear of violence is ever-present for WOW. This time, I was one of three WRJ women planning to chant Torah. Chant Torah at the Wall?! I was unbelievably nervous. First of all, I’m chanting at the Wall!! Second, I’m chanting in front of a lot of Israelis, and I am well aware that their Hebrew is better than mine.

So, we arrived at the Wall. The service begins with the usual catcalls and noise from the Haredi. The loudspeakers are on in the men’s section and intentionally aimed at us, intentionally trying to disrupt our prayer service and drown out our voices. A few Haredi women sit down amidst the scrum of WOW folks and are jeering at us. Others are yelling, pushing, and actually kicking us as we pray. The Rosh Chodesh service is led by two WOW women, each standing on a milk crate, one in the center of our circle and one on the periphery, leading prayer as loud as they possibly can. It’s crazy and chaotic, and it’s exhilarating.  

After a bit, we arrive at the chanting of Hallel, the psalms of praise sung on festivals and Rosh Chodesh. The leader in the middle asks: Where is the person reading the first Aliyah? That’s me.  

“Do you have a loud voice?” she asks.

“I can,” I reply.

She steps off the milk crate and up I go. I am leading Hallel. Fortunately, I know a lot of the same tunes WOW uses (the leader gets me started for each Psalm), so I am fine for singing. When we read, forget it. I cannot read as fast as an Israeli; not happening. Loud? Oh, yeah, I was loud all right. Really loud. When it was all over, I lost my voice (it was totally worth it).

Then, we get to the Torah service, and, lo and behold, a Torah appears. It was one of the handful of times WOW has successfully smuggled a Torah scroll through security. And I chant.  On the recording of WOW’s live stream, you can hear the Haredi whistling and shushing me.  And with every verse I chanted, I just got louder.  

As we went on with the service, I was high on adrenaline. What a rush! At the end of the service, we got to Mourner’s Kaddish, and I thought of my dad. I thought of all that the Wall and Israel meant to him, and how proud he was of me. I looked at the Wall, and I wept. Afterward, my brother wept while watching the video.

My parents taught me to stand up for what I believe is right. I like to think I do that. That day, on a cold Jerusalem morning, I know I did. And I did it loud and proud, and I did it in Hebrew!!  

I am still incredibly proud of leading Hallel and chanting at the Wall. It was really a super high point of my life—a true bucket list moment. I may never get the chance to do it again. In fact, I’d be surprised if I did, but I will, if circumstances permit, stand again with WOW. I deeply believe in the Israel I was brought up on, the one with religious pluralism, equality for all, and all that. I believe that I am, as a Reform Jewish woman, as Jewish as anyone else on the planet (and more so than many). And I believe that others like me have the right to worship in public in the way we choose—anywhere in public and certainly at the holiest place in the Jewish world, the Kotel.  Praying with WoW is not the most important manifestation of religious pluralism, gender equity, and civil society in Israel, far from it, but it is a potent symbol.  

In his lifetime, my father fought for the Israel he believed possible—the Israel promised by her Declaration of Independence, and now I too continue that fight. I do it in my work with WRJ, in my work with the New Israel Fund, and I will continue, when I can, to do it by standing with Women of the Wall. In so doing, I live what my father taught me— “It is not your duty to complete the task, neither are you free to desist from it. (Pirke Avot 2:16).”

WRJ Action Alert

Help strengthen the voice of Women of the Wall, IRAC, and our Reform Movement in Israel by adding yours. Here are two actions that you can take RIGHT NOW to support the rights of women and religious pluralism in Israel:

• Got a minute?  Sign up for IRAC’s weekly The Pluralist Newsletter at https://www.irac.org/sign-up
• Got a mantle? Donate your mantle by sending it with information about your congregation to Rabbi Josh Weinberg, URJ-Israel VP, Attn: WRJ/WoW Torah Mantle Collection, 633 Third Avenue - 7th Floor, NY, NY 10017, and WRJ will get those mantles to Israel, to WoW, and to the Kotel.