A group of women from the Women of the Wall group created a provocation at the Kosel on Wednesday morning, Rosh Chodesh Av, by smuggling in a Sefer Torah into the plaza and singing loudly while attempting to hold a Reform-style prayer service.
The move sparked protests from many women at the plaza, who shouted “Shame!” in response to their provocation, blocking the sound of their singing.
Speaking to Kol Chai on Wednesday morning, Malchieli said: “Under existing Israeli law, the Minister of Religious Services already has full authority over the holy places,” he said. “If we had a normal court that ruled according to the law instead of according to its own preferences, there would have been no need for new legislation. The High Court stripped the minister of his authority without any legal basis. Senior legal experts who have dealt with this issue for decades explained to us that a new law could actually do more harm than good and open the door to further damage.”
He added: “The High Court and some legal officials sometimes behave like an opposition faction, looking for ways to undermine anything connected to Judaism or the Chareidi community. We chose the more difficult path—to fight for every opening, enact new regulations, and climb through the window whenever they close the door on us. Shas chairman Aryeh Deri worked tirelessly behind the scenes to bring about these solutions.”
The Western Wall Heritage Foundation said in a statement: “Alongside the thousands of mispallelim who came this morning for the Rosh Chodesh Av tefillos, marking the period during which we reduce our joy and mourn the Churban of the Beis HaMikdash, the Women of the Wall group turned the Kosel Plaza into a protest site and acted in violation of of both the site’s regulations and court directives by bringing a Sefer Torah into the Kosel Plaza.”
“The Western Wall Heritage Foundation regrets the escalating confrontations of recent months, which intensified even further this Rosh Chodesh, and calls on everyone to stop turning the Kosel Plaza into a protest site. The Kosel is not a place for whistles and shouting, nor is it a place to stage provocations and desecrate its sanctity.”
“On Rosh Chodesh Av, which marks the yahrtzeit of Aharon HaKohen, who loved peace and pursued peace, we call on everyone to treat the Kosel with the respect it deserves and preserve its kedushah in accordance with Jewish tradition.”
(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
16 Responses
The police and security personnel knowingly allow those idiots to smuggle a sefer Torah into the Kosel Plaza, which is illegal!
Any idea why these women are so angry?
I have a feeling that we’re missing the message they are sending.
We need to learn from them!
They keep going back to do the same thing month after month after month.
They may be misguided.
I don’t know and I don’t care.
But stop and THINK about this:
ALL they are trying to do is DAVEN to Hashem and read from a Sefer Torah!
On the special Yom Tov Assigned by Hashem to Women – Rosh Chodesh!
In the Ezras Nashim!
THEY DO NOT GIVE UP!
This is something other Jews Need to Emulate:
Go Daven!
Learn Torah!
Celebrate Who You Are!
On the CORRECT side of the Mechitza!
Leave the FIGHTING to Hashem!
Figure Out How to Promote and Negotiate PEACE.
May This Rosh Chodesh Av be the Last One That Brings Pain and Sadness to Klal Yisrael…
Wishing Klal Yisrael That Next Year It Should Be A Proper YomTov, With Tefilah, Music, Dancing, Singing, and Korbanos…
B’derech Hatorah
The activities by the women of the wall group are reprehensible. They have no sense of Torah Law knowing that only men may handle the Torah. It is a ‘shame’ that they are ignorant of the proper Kedusha and decorum at the Kotel most especially this day of Menachem Av, the first of 9 days leading us Yidden to Tisha B’Av and the Churban of The Beit HaMikdash.
The question is why the government still listens to the “high court “ if it doesn’t follow the law???
Then they will come begging for our votes, when clearly they don’t know how to govern
These women are only looking for attention! If they really wanted to pray with a minyan they could rent an apartment and daven there.
These woman dont care about religon at all all they want is to cause probloms.
@Yaadd; correct, they said clearly, they have NO interest in the Kosel (don’t believe in it…) just a way and place to make a noise, protest and still hoping one-day to get their way of reform acceptance.
I have a very outrageous idea, but probably cannot be implemented in Israel. Especially when there is a knee jerk reaction against the women of the wall. How about letting them just come and do their thing and ignoring them? Treat them by just walking right by as you would do for other unusual /unorthodox / alien people who just come and pay their respects to the wall. I think that their determination feeds from the reaction of people, so they continue doing this month after month. Just curious, do they get together and pray every other day of the week? And do they do that 3 times a day? Or do they pray Shacharis once a month at the Kotel?
Until Women of the Wall started coming to the Kosel in 1988 CE,
EVERYONE who came to the Kosel to pray respected the rules,
regardless of religious affiliation.
Why can’t these women understand
that Jewish men and women have different roles in prayer?
Why can’t they find something productive to do with their time,
instead of having a small group of women come to the Kosel each month
and be disruptive ?
It’s very sad.
It was brought up that we should learn from these women of the wall. What is Torah’s take on this. It is a Chillul H”M to knowingly and deliberately smuggle a Men’s Torah Scroll into the Kotel. Smuggling in a Torah Scroll shows that these women know exactly what they are doing. They deliberately and knowingly are defying the Torah Men at the Kotel. They are trying to draw attention to themselves deliberately in order to teach something of a horrible nature, that the Torah may be handled by women. The Torah is in pain over this, because only Torah Men may carefully handle and manage Torah matters. I am a Torah woman. I reject the women of the walls attempts to redefine the absolute nature of Torah Law. I know without a doubt that H”M will harm these women for daring to handle improperly the Torah, and with Niddah Laws being broken due to these women’s impurity. That is one of the main reasons why they may NEVER hold or read from a Torah Scroll. Torah Men know just what do do. Women do not. They are already being harmed by H”M for daring to act improperly in the Kotel area. Please G-D, please remove these evil minded women from the Kotel and any other place where they are putting H”M’s Torah at severe risk of being improperly harmed. Signed, Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka.
Does anyone know approximately how many of these “women of the wall” come to the Kosel each month ?
BASESTHER: if someone was raping your daughter, would you walk right by, or would you stop it because you love your daughter? Well, we love the Kotel and the Shechina which resides it.
Every month the same thing. I guess they don’t realize that other Jews pray every day and not just one day a month. Also you guys can stop calling it smuggling when every month it’s successful. That means it’s with permission more or less
These women are the modern day Hellenists. They come just to provoke the overwhelming number of observant Jewish women there who want to pray in peace!
It takes a certain amount of commitment to get to minyan. Even if it’s routine. Reformers are not exactly into commitment- or into accepting the full עול מצות. Much of their activism is about loosening of standards and reducing obligations- not about taking on an additional task of traveling some distance just to join a minyan in the hot summer sun in a place whose sanctity is rejected.
They reject ימות המשיח and any yearning for the restoration of the בית המקדש. So why do they show up?
Because, their agenda is much broader than obtaining additional rights at the כותל. The כותל activities serve as a provocation and demonstration. And such provocations are only successful to the extent people get provoked. And they know how to provoke. We’re a community that values צניעות. And if you want to rile up the קנאים and trigger-prone youths- all you need is a violation (or semi-violation, or appearance of a violation) of צניעות. (Consider which opinion of Rav Moshe triggered the cruel attacks against him.)
The Women of The Wall were not created by Anat Hoffman. They were created by her opposition who allowed themselves to be provoked and manipulated and thus responded with disorganized media-candy over-the-top antagonism.
It may be painful to remain silent and ignore them, but I fail to see the wisdom of giving in to their provocations which merely give them more media attention and inadvertently promote their movement.
תְּמֵיהַנִי אִם יֵשׁ בְּדוֹר הַזֶּה שֶׁיּוֹדֵעַ לְהוֹכִיחַ
BASESTHER that’s the best idea yet
Such a big deal is made out of this group of women, that’s exactly what they’re asking for!