Many of you have heard about (or participated in) the massive Tefilla gathering at the Kotel last Rosh Chodesh, organized at the call of Women For The Wall (W4W), a grassroots group of women dedicated to preserving the kedusha at the Kotel and keeping an atmosphere of achdus there, one that Women of the Wall (WoW), a group funded and backed by the Reform movement is trying to change. And is being successful, unfortunately.
Last month close to 15,000 women came out to show that they care about the Kotel, that the claim that Women of the Wall make that they’re fighting for women’s rights is incorrect, because they’re trampling on our rights as women by trying to turn the Kotel into a place where we’d feel uncomfortable praying.
This coming Rosh Chodesh is very pivotal in our struggle to keep the Kotel a place respectful of Jewish tradition and a place of unity. This month we don’t have the seminaries busing girls in like we had last month, so its up to us to bring as many women as we can to show that we care. The feelings and desires of a small minority should not demand unilateral changes on Judaism’s most holy site.
We call on you, Jewish women, to come to the Kotel to show you care, to pray to God to help us resolve this very tense situation. Only peaceful prayer- no confrontations and absolutely no violence!
We especially are trying to reach out to the dati leumi and masorti and secular world who care about keeping the kotel a place of unity, where tradition is respected, because thus far, people incorrectly are portraying this as a chareidi vs everyone else issue, when it certainly is not. Please spread the word in your social circles and come to the kotel to daven, this coming Rosh Chodesh.
This initiative, led by Women For the Wall has the backing of the Gedolim from across the religious spectrum, as well as prominent rebetzins such as Rebetzin Tzipora Heller, Rebetzin Baila Berger of the Ahavas Yisrael project, Rabbanit Melamed of Yeshivat Bet El, Sara Yocheved Rigler, among many more.
For more information about Women For the Wall and what we stand for, see WomenForTheWall.org
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5 Responses
Why make an issue over everything. Let them serve Hashem the way they feel. We are the ones making Machlokes. T
I hope none of those stupid hateful people who threw things last time will show up this week. that’s all we need, to give these Reform sonei yisroel ammunition to attack us.
Why are they seeking to repeat last month mistake, the following was posted last month by one of the participants on their facebook and I for one really don’t want to see a repeat:
start quote:
“The Rabbi’s grand scheme backfired. The girls who arrived before 6:30 am and filled the women’s section to overflowing left the Women of the Wall no choice but to hold their minyan behind the back fence that separates the prayer area from the plaza area. As such, there were no fences or gates or modesty police who could do anything about the totally egalitarian mixed minyan that resulted. I know this is not what the WoW’ers want, but it sure made me and a lot of other egalitarians VERY happy this morning.”
end quote.
If they came holding a large golden cross with yushke on it in front of the Kosel we would be obligated to protest and we must protest the same with the heresy they are engaged in.
Leave it to the Frum women to counter the WoW. They will be civil and not make a Chillul Hashem. They may actually teach the WoW something (though I doubt it).