As Elul approaches, the Women of the Wall (WoW) organization is capitalizing on their newly-found momentum, the increased chareidi concern with their presence at the Kosel on rosh chodesh. This month the women vow to defy another law as they plan to blow a shofar at the Kosel to as a “Call to Stand Up Against Bullying and Injustice at the Western Wall” as the organization’s media release puts it.
This coming Wednesday, 1 Elul 5773 at 7AM WoW will gather for their monthly service at the Kosel. This month they plan to add shofar blowing to the agenda.
WoW officials point out that “Last month, police held Women of the Wall enclosed in an area far from the Kosel, next to the bathrooms, for the duration of the service. During this time, police allowed men and women to protest with signs, whistles (both illegal at the Kotel) and verbally assault the women who prayed. One year ago, on Rosh Chodesh Elul 2012, as Women of the Wall chair Anat Hoffman went to blow shofar, a police officer took the Jewish traditional ram’s horn from her lips, denying the women of the right to hear the call of the shofar. In April 2013 a Jerusalem District Court judgment guaranteed all women the right to free prayer at the Western Wall. This decision was supported by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice Tzipi Livni. Despite this important court decision, women are refused access to a Torah scroll in the women’ section of the Kotel, still today.”
This month, the organization will be running buses from cities around Israel in the hope of significantly increasing the turnout.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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15 Responses
Blow the shofar for what? As a reminder to do Teshuva? What a mess…
This is becoming a real political and PR circus and the WoW are the clear winners. If they want to blow shofar, that’s fine. Leave them be. There is nothing to be gained by trying to intimidate them, given that the courts have ruled they are within their rights to daven as they wish. Not one of these women will be brought closer to true torah observance by a bunch of black hats screaming shiksa at them or bussing in thousands of girls from yeshivos to waste half a day trying to block them from getting close to the kosel. Let everyone follow their own hashkafah and we will all be better off.
Gadol hatora.
You have a point. But as with many of these things we have to remember the other side too. With regard to gay marriage you can also say “let them follow their own hashkafa”. However- having out kids grow up in a world where gay marriage is legal, and there are women davening at the Kosel, etc. is a thing all the gedolim were against.
True- we have to educate out children that even when they see such things- and that is probably what will inevitably have to be done, but its still a tragedy.
What is wrong with a woman blowing shofar during Elul. A woman can even blow shofar on Rosh Hashanah for another woman!
“Women of the Wall organization is capitalizing on their newly-found momentum”. Let’s remember that WoW had been active for decades and had achieved neither fame nor sympathy nor any momentum with any part of the population. They came, did their thing and went home, month after month, year after year – and nobody cared. What happened after decades of quiet anonymity that suddenly propelled them into the eyes and hearts of the public? Only one thing – they suddenly came under attack. Leave them be – and their new-found momentum will disappear as quickly as it came.
hahaha let them blow shofar
Gadolhadorah- this is the holiest spot in the Jewish religion. Let them bring their liberal feminist experiments somewhere else. We cannot always “live and let live”. Where do we draw the line?
I liked a sign someone had by the Kotel when those women showed up “you’ve built a new religion, build a new wall too”.
They want to remind us to blow shofar to put them (the WoWs) into cherem.
Let them all blow Shofar. At least it will remove the Kol Isha problem.
#2 You are wrong. We have to make a stand for what is right.
Why can’t a woman blow a shofar. The only issue is whether she can fulfil the mitzva for someone else, but even on Rosh ha-Shana a woman would be able to blow shofar herself if there were no frum men around. And blowing shofar in Elul has a lot fewer laws.
And since blowing shofar is to remind one to do tseuvah, it would seem that “Women of the Wall” could use a lot of reminding.
Let’s draw the protest line at something of permanence e.g. an improper marriage. A shofar blast is ephemeral. A minute later it’s over and may or may not be repeated.
I find it disgustingly offensive to be lectured on women’s rights in Judaism by male and female American reform rabbis who support Arab racial supremacist Islamists in their objective of exterminating the Jewish people in concentration camps by gassing Jews to death with Zyklon B.
” This is becoming a real political and PR circus and the WoW are the clear winners. If they want to blow shofar, that’s fine. Leave them be. There is nothing to be gained by trying to intimidate them, given that the courts have ruled they are within their rights to daven as they wish. Not one of these women will be brought closer to true torah observance by a bunch of black hats screaming shiksa at them or bussing in thousands of girls from yeshivos to waste half a day trying to block them from getting close to the kosel. Let everyone follow their own hashkafah and we will all be better off. “,.
Gadolhadorah
Calling them ” shiksa ” is unfair to ordinary decent non-Jewish girls and women who support the Jewish people and wish Jews well, as the so called reform movement in the US which is playing a large part in the circus at the Western Wall are to a significant extent murderous antisemitic filth.
Get the Arabs to be upset at WoW and complain to Netanyahu. That will get them barred from the Kotel.