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| Reform rabbi and Israeli MK, Gilad Kariv - leading the pack (JTA) |
American Reform rabbis joined Women of the Wall (WoW) for the group’s monthly prayer service at the Western Wall, weeks after members of the Israeli government introduced, then quickly withdrew, a law that would have banned their activity.
In addition, police intervened to stop Orthodox counter-protesters who tried to disrupt a separate prayer service at a space allocated for egalitarian worship.
To say that the current Knesset is controversial would be an understatement. Nearly half the country is apoplectic over what the current far right governing coalition is attempting to do. The most immediate concern is over judicial review. An issue that has problems whether the structure of the judiciary remains the same or changes in the drastic way it is being presented in a bill to the Knesset.
But religious issues are just as divisive. And as noted reflected in what happened at the Kotel. where extremists on both sides are determined to have their way in the belief that their ideals trump their opponent’s ideals.
Most secular Jews probably don’t care all that much about what goes on at the Kotel. But religious Jews care greatly. As do feminists and heterodox rabbis.
WoW consists of Jewish feminist women that wish to practice a Jewish ritual that is traditionally reserved for men. Including reading from the Torah – something which (without getting into detail) is inherently problematic in Halacha.
For years they have participated in this monthly cycle on Rosh Chodesh. The sight of this untraditional service is disruptive to many of the Orthodox women that pray at the Kotel in traditional ways. That WoW consists of women that may be sincere in their desire to serve God in this non traditional way does not diminish the fact that their overriding goal is the advancement of feminism. As indicated by the following comment from one of the 200 Reform rabbis attending it:
“As a woman, a rabbi, the only woman chief executive in the CCAR’s 134-year history & as a proud feminist, I’m bound by Jewish values to support not only Women of the Wall but to proudly hold the Torah for all women told they cannot worship freely at the Kotel,” Rabbi Hara Person, the head of the movement’s rabbinical association, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, said in a statement.
The real reason that 200 Reform rabbis participated in this is their desire to be legitimized - saying that a true democracy requires pluralism. And that therefore all denominations should be recognized as legitimate and have equal standing in any kind of Jewish state that calls itself a democracy.
This is in essence what the religious parties want to prevent. And as an Orthodox Jew, I stand with them on this issue. Pluralism cannot be supported in a Jewish state that is worthy of the name. Legitimizing a denomination that denies the obligation of every Jew to follow all the Mitzvos of the Torah is against the very ethos of a Judaism that requires it.
The idea that we Orthodox Jews can believe as we do and Reform Jews can believe as they do will enable Reform rabbis to convince secular Israelis that not observing Halacha is perfectly OK.
Prevention of this message is a requirement for those of us that believe that this version of Judaims is inherently against the will of God.
With assimilation running rampant in the US in part because - over time - so many Jews have been disabused of the belief that Mitzvos are required has surely contributed to the exit of so many Jews from Judaism. A pluralistic society in Israel will likely add to that number eventually. Even in a Jewish state.
This can’t about live and let live. There is a lot a stake here. A denomination that will steer secular Jews astray is not anything an Orthodox Jew can support legitimizing. Observance has always defined us asa people apart. Which has kept us Jewish. Jews that abandoned Torah and Mitzvos were never sanctioned. They knew they were considered outside the pale of Judaism. Reform Judaism has made non observance acceptable. As well as redefining who is considered Jewish. There is no way any Orthodox Jew can support Israel giving a denomination like that legitimacy
This is yet another reason why the religious parties are determined to fight for WoW. Reform rabbis see this as a precursor to being legitimized. This is why they showed up. And they are going to do whatever it takes to see that happen. If that means disturbing the peace at the Kotel… if that means violating the rules set up by the Kotel authority (which were made with the blessing of the previous government) they don’t care because they see it as a right that should be guaranteed by a democracy.
Here’s the thing, though. You cannot have a fully democratic state in a land that is defined as Jewish. Nor can you have a fully Jewish state in a land that is defined as a democracy. In a land where both values are cherished… a land that is divided by those who see Israel as mostly Jewish state and those who see it mostly a democracy, you must compromise. No way around it.
This is what the Egalitarian space at the Kotel is all about. The religious parties have allowed non Orthodox prayer to take place there. That right has not been taken away. (An attempt to do so has been tabled.) The only dispute is about expansion, accessibility, and how access to either area will be determined. (The details of which are beyond the scope of this post.)
The egalitarian space has not bene closed. WoW is free to pray there in whichever manner they choose. In my view - that they insist on using the traditional part of the Kotel is because they want government recognition of their feminist goals.
Which brings me to the young Charedim protesting that space yesterday:
While another Knesset member from a haredi Orthodox party tried to block Kariv’s delivery of the Torah, the prayer service took place as planned. Teenagers associated with the far-right Noam Party heckled the women, as well as men and women praying together at a separate service in an egalitarian space administered by the Conservative-Masorti movement. But police intervened to restrain the Noam protesters, according to local media reports.
The police pledged to deploy additional officers on the first day of the month in the wake of an incident in which Orthodox protesters disrupted the bar mitzvah of an American boy last summer in the egalitarian prayer section, and police officers did not intervene.
These young rabble rousers represent the worst among us. They have been led astray by adult zealots who believe that compromise is the worst thing idealists like themselves could do. They are determined to be as disruptive as possible until they get their way. Kind of like those Reform rabbis albeit using different tactics.
You know what? A ‘plague on both their houses!’ If either side is breaking the law, they deserve to have the book thrown at them.