Ozi v'zimrat yah

Sunday marked Rosh Chodesh--the first day of a new month.  Traditionally, additional prayers are added to mark the occasion and the Torah is read.  One would not expect to use Rosh Chodesh as a soapbox, but Israel has found a way.  This is a story of intrigue, frustration, and fear.  :)

Brief setup: the Western Wall/Kotel is a major pilgrimmage site for Jews.  It is among the little that remains of the Second Temple.  Just like in Orthodox and Traditional synagogues, there is a division between the men and women by a wall called a m'chitzah.  At the Kotel, the men's side is significantly bigger.  The women's side is quite small, usually overpacked right at the wall itself, and the women are not allowed to pray out loud.  There is a lot of security and police at the Kotel, making it probably one of the safest large open spaces in Israel. 

According to their website, womenofthewall.co.il, in 1988 a mixture of non-demoninational women met together to pray at the Western Wall/Kotel. Any one who chose wore a tallit/prayer shawl.  All was well until the Torah scroll was unwrapped.  One of the religious women on that side of the m'chitzah made a fuss, prompting the major dispute among the Haredi Jews--ultra-Orthodox--, the Israeli Supreme Court, and this organization, the Women of the Wall.  Is it allowed by religious law, halacha, for women to read from the Torah?  Can they wear tefillin and talitot.  Fast forward a few years, the court system officially declared that women cannot read Torah at the Kotel under criminal offense with a seven-year imprisonment as punishment.  The Women of the Wall still meets every month and a number of major holidays, but reads Torah in a different area.

Of course, the Ultra-Orthodox men are still not happy.  Attempting to disrupt the flow of the service, many will throw chairs over the m'chitzah.  Others will stand on chairs and yell at the women over the m'chitzah.  The Women of the Wall finally has police protection, and there have been fewer major incidents, with exception of a number of arrests.  Most famously, one of the major leaders of the Women of the Wall, Anat Hoffman, was arrested in July 2010 and resisted arrest by holding tight to the Torah she was carrying. 

OK, enough set-up. A number of students from the HUC decided to go and witness the spectacle that is the Women of the Wall.  The ladies of the group prayed on the women's side and were able to get the full experience.  We menfolk stayed on the men's side and had a very different experience.

I don't pray on a regular basis with a m'chitzah, and when I do I'm on the side where all the action happens.  It was strange being on the side trying to press my ear up to the m'chitzah and figure out what was going on.  Anyway, the Haredi men were having their own fun.  Seeing a bunch of men standing in solidarity with the women, one Haredi got very excited and headed toward us with a chair in his hands.  The police very swiftly stopped him as he got the chair off the ground.  Other Haredi men rushed toward him and almost seemed to talk him out of doing something terrible.  He calmed down and wasn't a problem.  Maybe ten minutes later, a man got on a chair and started shouting at the women, and then decided to harangue the men.  He kept his distance and only made gestures at us, but it was still an amazing sight.  During Hallel, one of the traditional parts added in honor of Rosh Chodesh, a minyan of Haredim met and started reciting their prayers so loudly as to drown out the sounds of the women.  I'm still a young'un, but I was taught that childlike behavior from an adult is obnoxious.  Thanks, Mom and Dad.

For a fun time, go to Youtube and look up "Women of the Wall."  You can see videos of men throwing chairs and shouting at the women.  Fun.

By the time of the Torah service, the procession from the Kotel began to the place where we read Torah.  It felt like it was miles away, but perhaps this was just me anticipating history and legend.  The Torah service was like a regular Torah service, gasp, and nothing unusual happened.  However, I still felt a sense of being a part of something bigger than me or the people around me.  This is something to believe in--freedom for all. 

Incidently, Happy Fourth of July, all!

The HUC students and a number of the leaders of our program met at Liberty Bell Park (with a full replica Liberty Bell) to have a little BBQ.  We had delicious food, played games with the Arabic children, and got to know one another.  Good times had by all.

This week, the rest of the students will arrive in Israel.  Those already here will continue to hang out, explore the city, and have a good time.  The schoolwork is imminent though we would like to delay it.

"Ozi v'zimrat yah" comes from Exodus 15:2 at the crossing of the sea and Psalm 118:14 set by Rabbi Shefa Gold.  This song was chanted during the procession from the Kotel to site for the reading of the Torah.