Two days before the Women of the Wall are set to hold their monthly protest prayer on Rosh Chodesh, the Justice Ministry has come to their aid.
Deputy Attorney General, Erez Kaminetz, issued a letter on Wednesday evening stating that: “According to the High Court of Justice’s decision regarding a recent appeal, it was determined that the prayers of the Women of the Wall, is not considered a prayer ceremony that goes against the mores of Minhag Hamakom.”
“In accordance with the policies of the Foundation for the Heritage of the Kotel, it is permitted to utilize a loudspeaker provided by the Foundation for a group that requests it if they are expected to be more than 1,000 people.”
According to an article that appeared in BeChadrei Charedim, the Women of the Wall group asked the Kotel Rabbi, Rabbi Rabinowitz for permission to use a loudspeaker but were refused, as Rabbi Rabinowitz claimed that having a woman as a chazzan is not in accordance with the accepted customs of the Kotel (Minhag Hamakom). Therefore the request was denied.
Kaminetz reiterated the ruling of the High Court of Justice that said that women are legally allowed to pray at the Kotel and be led by a female chazzanit, wearing Tallit and Tefillin. “It is our stance, that a prayer led by a chazzanit is not against the Minhag Hamakom,” Kaminetz said.
As two distinct groups requested to use loudspeakers at the same time, both the Women of the Wall and the Liba Center, Kaminetz said that: “It is inappropriate to have two groups using a loudspeaker at the same time. I recommned that the groups find practical alternate solutions that will be acceptable to both.”
The Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef ruled differently on Wednesday, stating that it is prohibited to allow the Women of the Wall to use a loudspeaker at the Kotel. Hagain HaRav Chaim Kanievsky instructed seminaries from across Israel to bring thousands of girls to pray at the Kosel on Friday morning starting at 6:30 a.m., with the goal of creating a Kiddush Hashem opposite the Women of the Wall prayers.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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10 Responses
Stop giving these publicity seekers more attention….if the courts have allowed them to do their thing once a month, dragging thousands of girls out of school for a counter demonstration only creates more attention for them while disrupting classes
We Orthodox Yidden also make changes to old established Halacha.
My cousin is a doctor and a medic. We asked a Sheilo from various Heimishe Moireh Hoiroh’s whether he is allowed to be Mechallel Shabos D’oireiso, for a Goy, in situations where there is no Kiddush or Chilul Hashem and no Eivo, They all told him that even though according to Halacha it is Osur, we should be Mechalel Shabos and save the life of a Goy. They are our fellow Human Beings and we all have a heart to help each other.
So we asked whether this Psak is also regarding returning Hashovas Aveido or To’os Akum and they all said yes.
there is a high chance that reform Jews aren’t even Jewish
I tried to google ‘Erez Kaminetz’ but there is no biographical information on him. So I will assume he is a totally non observant Jew who has no connection to the Kosel or the Kotel, and has made a decision based solely on secular liberal values.
How sad. And they call it a “Jewish State”? Everyone who calls themselves Frum/Dati should protest such a slap in the face to the Kedusha of the Kosel!
And in truth it is the fault of the Frum people. Those frum people who have made the holy Kosel into a nice backdrop for pictures. For young Men & Women to go to in order to get their first Chosson & KAlla (Or husband & Wife) picture taken in the Kosel courtyard. When the Plaza in front of the Kosel is a social gathering place on Shabbos. We are the cause of this desecration.
With some more Kovod and Yireh for the Kosel maybe this could not happen.
frumshmurda718 ,
You write “there is a high chance that reform Jews aren’t even Jewish.”
Even if they are Jewish, they practice a non Jewish “religion” called reform which has nothing to do with Judaism.
> ader
“in situations where there is no Kiddush or Chilul Hashem and no Eivo”
That is not a realistic situation. It has all the meaning of asking would dry water (H2O) still make something wet in halacha. In what way is that possible for a Jewish doctor to let a non-Jew die (in the same situation where the doctor would not let a Jew die) and it not be Chilul Hashem and Eivo. And I never accept the possibility that “no one will find out” – such a claim is contrary to both experience and our tradition.
Aside from that, there have been plenty of reasons given going a long time back. The Meiri (13th century) explicitly writes that those texts that gave the prohibitions were referring only to barbaric cultures (meaning that murder and/or rob with impunity). In more recent time R. Soloveitchik (for example) gave reasons such as reciprocity (if you don’t do it for them they won’t do it for you) and other reasons as well.
So this was never a “change” from tradition. It was always a tradition that had many different opinions.
Georgeg
Please see Mishna Berura Hilchos Shabbos., where he was very upset at the Jewish doctors for helping.
How about Hilchos Hashovas Aveido L’eino Yehudi, is that Halacha just in Theory?
I was always wondering whether we should include non-yidden in the Tefilah for Refuah Sheleimo?
> ader
As I wrote, that is an old argument and there were always (at least) two sides. So the Mishna Berura took that side. The author lived till 1933 (Wikipedia), while the Meiri who took the other side lived in the 13th century. The concept of Dina Demalcuso overrides Hilchos Hashovas Aveido L’eino Yehudi if only (to name one reason) for the simple reason that all money outside of the Jew’s original possession already belongs to the government. You can’t take possession of something that is taken by the government as soon it no longer belongs to the individual – it is not “lost” – it is government property.
It is hardly different than getting drunk on Purim. That also had many different opinions. So focusing on the one opinion that seems to interpret it literally does not justify ignoring all the plethora of other opinions going back to the Rambam, Meiri etc who interpret it differently.
The Rambam’s Shita re. Hashovas Aveido is followed by the Mechaber, but the Remah follows the other Rishonim. The Meiri does not say his Shita re Chilul Shabos re a Eino Yehudi. Nobody mentions anything regarding excluding goyim from our Tefilos for Refuah Sheleimo.
I would love to know how to be Mechanech our children to have the proper Human empathy for any decent Human Being even if he was born to non-yidishe mother. I can’t even dare to repeat the kind of language I hear when I drive the bus in the morning and afternoon.
The women of the wall yms are traitors, simply traitors… so compare them to terrorists yms
And so is anyone else who agrees with them!