Voices of WRJ: Emor

Parashat Emor tells us the holy rules of priests and rules for holidays and celebrations: regulations of priestly lives and sacrifices; the Jewish calendar; laws of murder, blasphemy, harming other people; the need for pure olive oil for sanctuary menorahs.

I grew up a rule follower, never shimmied down a trellis after bedtime and was only called to the Vice Principal’s office once (due to an unfortunate misunderstanding of 90’s grunge wear - cutoff jeans and long underwear were cool for Eddie Vedder, apparently not so much for the Absegami High School hallways). I type this in between screen time negotiations with my 5-year-old, reheating my morning coffee, and sewing face masks. All the while, this Parashah resonates with me. When have I followed the rules? When have I broken them? Right now, there is one rule I refuse to break: staying at home during the Coronavirus pandemic. It’s hard to believe that just two months ago, I was sharing in my #1 “Favorite Time I Broke the Rules.” And it’s no surprise that it was with the women of WRJ.

In February, I was fortunate enough to be a part of the WRJ Israel Mission 2020. Along with thirty other WRJ women, we toured Israel and shared in its culture. We tasted falafel, drank wine, indulged in spa treatments, sang together, learned about the Reform movement at the Leo Baeck School and Hebrew Union College, toured an artists’ colony, and did interpretive dance with the owner of Vertigo Dance. The eight days filled my soul for a lifetime. During my time at home since the outbreak of the pandemic, I think about this trip a whole lot.

During our mission, on a Wednesday, we woke up at the crack of dawn so we could arrive at the Kotel in Jerusalem to celebrate Rosh Chodesh with Women of the Wall. When we arrived, we all had to wait in the women’s line to get through security. There was no wait in the men’s line. All our belongings were inspected. Some of the women with Women of the Wall were physically searched. This is because women are not allowed to bring Torah scrolls with them to chant Torah at the wall. The men, however, have 150 Torah scrolls to choose from on their side of the wall. Our group arrived at the wall, some wore tefillin, and many of us wore the Women of the Wall tallitot and kippot. We were surrounded by a group of teenage girls and women yelling at us continually to stop our service. Some of these women pushed us while we were praying and singing. As we sang, the clouds parted to shine on the women’s section. Not hyperbole, this actually happened. When it came time to chant Torah, the Torah magically appeared and Anat Hoffman, Executive Director of IRAC and Board Chair of Women of the Wall, held it in the air for all to see. How it was smuggled in is still a secret. Women of the Wall has tried to bring a scroll in 39 times and has only been successful six of those attempts. This experience is seared into my memory. Hearing and watching Abby Fisher, Karen Goldberg, and Rozan Anderson chant from the Torah was just so beautiful. Every woman deserves to experience the joy of participating in this. I was more than happy to join in breaking these rules.

We are all living very different lives than we were 1-2 months ago. Right now, most of us are at home, unable to go to work, visit friends and family. We are not walking along our beaches, taking hikes in nature, going to the theatre, attending services at our congregations, celebrating birthdays together. Some of us are on the front lines at hospitals, grocery stores, and pharmacies. Many of us are out of work and many of our friends and families have lost their jobs or have been furloughed. Some of us are having a hard time making ends meet. And many of us are having a hard time processing what has happened to our world in the last 4-6 weeks.

By following the rule of staying at home, we help those of us that are sick be healed and prevent those of us who are susceptible to getting gravely ill stay well. We protect those on the front lines. My wish is that we follow this rule so well, that soon we may all be able to leave our homes and break some rules that need breaking.

Julia Wackenheim is a WRJ Board Member, co-chair of the Fried Women’s Conference 2021, can be seen in her web series "F'd," on a few TV shows, commercials, or onstage in "The Friday Forty" (a live comedy quiz show). She's also a mother of an avid swimmer-guitarist-toddler, and married to writer/producer, Scott M. Gimple.