What the Women of the Wall are Really About

ד' לחודש תשע"ג

Many have told me that it is none of my business whether the so-called “Women Of The Wall” observe their obligatory misswoth, including tzni’uth (modesty), one of the most important misswah a women has. Of course, that does not just mean “covering everything up.” However, they clearly have no clue about this crucial misswah, one way or another.

They are concerned only with doing whatever the heck they want, irregardless of whomever else gets harmed in the process.

Many have told me that it is none of my business what the intentions of these women are, whether they believe that putting a talith and tefillin on in public help their kewanna (intent) in prayer (yeah, right!) or if they are simply trying to make a political statement about their "democratic freedoms."

I suppose that also does not matter that these women’s democratic rights were held up over those of other women,…Haredi women. Everyone wants scream and yell about how “oppressed” Haredi women are. And, then when they want to assert their rights, their voices are silenced and their place in society is marginalized, to borrow from some good, lefty feminist, pseudo-Jewish phrases.

One of five five screenshots of the Israeli Police State in action

Headlines across the board read, “Haredi Protesters Tried to Prevent the Women of the Wall from Praying.”

There was never any mention of the final outcome, which was that these so-called “Women of the Wall” actually ended up preventing thousands of Haredi women from praying at the Kothel.

In all fairness, David Abitbol from Jewlicious, informed me that he was at the Kothel at the time, and believed that the screenshots I had obtained from the JPost YouTube Channel were misleading. He said that the [so-called] “Women Of The Wall” really did not take up very much space at all.

Those screenshots can be seen here, in the photo essay Religious Jews Fenced In: the shape of things to come?

I was surprised, as the JPost has always been traditionally anti-Haredi and pro-"religious pluralism," in my opinion.

Nevertheless, I believe that David completely misses the point.

As I have already written previously, the so-called “Women of the Wall”are not the problem, not in the least.

Whether they know it or not, and whether they even care or not, they are just pawns.

There are “rabbis” have actually come out in support of these women, and there are rabbis who have backed down from their hardline positions against them. The last time rabbis backed down, it was a few years ago, when they called their students to refrain from protesting the so-called “Gay Pride” Parade.

My understanding is that officials from a “certain government agency” approached these rabbis, and suggested that…

They would not want any of their students getting injured, would they?

So much for ones “democratic” right to express ones opinion.

This communication from the gub’mint to these rabbis resulted in their sudden 180° turn away from their previous position.

The government’s agenda is further emphasized by the double standards recently exposed in Minister Livni’s “committee” racism hot line. It only deals with "specific kinds" of discrimination, which is, of course, code for "Haredim and 'Settlers' can go to hell."

But, the main point is that democracy has absolutely nothing to do with Torah, and thus Judaism. It is a mental artifact from Western galuth, and is being perpetuated by the Erev Rav-controlled, anti-Torah, Isaraeli government, and their pawns, those mamlakhti (undying state loyalist) who call for “patience and tolerance,” and the cost of expressing the truth (Torah), as well as those Haredi rabbis who stand idly by, refusing to dirty their hands in the process, and bring forth the truth about how Jewish government is run. Let Mashi’ah come, and he will take care of everything.

I call that a cop out on both counts, a total cave-into government pressure, or in other words a complete lack of emunah (faith).

Both sets of “rabbis” are just as comfortable in their galuth (exile) mentality of denial, as most North American Jews have become comfortable in its physical galuth.

And for those of you who constantly accuse me of being misogynist, I will tell you that one of the few Jews in Israel with a voice of reason,…is a woman.

Arutz 7: Rabbanit Tzviya Eliyahu: Women of the Wall are 'Crazy'

Gil Ronen, June 6, 2013

..."They have gone completely mad,” she said. “They want to enter through the back door, but it won't happen. They cannot come with tallit and tefillin, it's as simple as that. We will not let them do it; they will not defile the place. It is very bad that the police and courts are defending them. The public does not agree to this. It is not democracy, it is democtatorship.”

"If they are Jewish women and not an erev rav of all stripes and colors, then let them come and pray like everyone, but without tallit and tefillin,” she said. The expression 'erev rav' refers to Egyptians and other non-Jews who, according to tradition, joined the Israelites' exodus from Egypt, and later exerted a negative influence on the nation.

Rabbanit Eliyahu does not accept the claims that the Women of the Wall are not Reform Jews. “Today they have one foot here and tomorrow they have the other foot there. If they come with tallit and tefillin and this kind of nonsense, it is just a provocation. We do not accept this. The Kotel is a holy place and there is no room in it for Reformism or Reformists....”

"Rabbi" Barbie
with hair and arms exposed

Many women like to throw around the fact that Rashis Daughters put on tefillin. The fact that they did it properly, with proper kewanna, and in private (and not for the sole sake of pushing a political agenda) always seems to be conspicuously absent from their argument. How dare they compare themselves to Rashi’s daughters! They are far being Rashi’s daughters.

"These women are no Rashi's daughters. Rashi’s daughters were the mothers of [great Hakhamim] Ba’alei Tosafot."

-The Kalashnokover Rebbe

Who are these women of the wall the mothers of?

Oh, I know, I know, one of them is bound to be the odd one out and have a normal thinking child. Well, all I have to say to that is...

וּבְתוּאֵל, יָלַד אֶת-רִבְקָה... (בראשית כב,כג)

And Bethuel begot Rebekah...(Genesis 22:23)

מי שמבין מבין.

Mrs. Eliyahu, on the other hand, is the mother of the Rav of Tzfath, and just any “rabbi,” but a rav who is unafraid of criticizing the government when appropriate, clearly recognizing that there ARE conflicts between Israeli Law and Torah Law, and having the courage to declare this fact publicly (whoever thought one would need courage to point this out to a supposedly “Jewish” government?), even in the face of being convicted of “crime” in secular courts.

So, I know which woman is worth listening to, the one to taught her son to worship The Almighty, and not the State, like some others seem to do.

I certainly do not suggest that it is forbidden for women to wear talith and tefillin. It is not.

The Women of the Wall: Is there a problem?

 (ללחוץ בלינק הזה להגיע לסרטון בעברית.)

Of course, Rabbi David Bar-Hayim is correct. However, I cannot help express that I would personally like to see a more assertive approaching in dealing with them and their agenda. I know that he himslef, has other fish to fry. His focus is elsewhere, working on other important issues.

We are here on this earth to fulfill The Almighty's Will, not our own.  belief in the acceptability that we can do whatever we want in this world, without any concern for what The Almighty wants, or worse, allowing everything to believe that doing whatever they want IS what The Almighty wants.

Hannah Katzman, one of the most prominent bloggers in English, wrote the piece My Lesson In Tolerance at the Times Of Israel.

In theory, I agree with several of the points she makes. However, “Tolerance” is a very important middah (attribute), and, in my humble opinion, we could do for an increase of it within Am Yisrael. However, “Tolerance” for the sake of tolerance, is nothing more than a euphemism for "There is no right and wrong" and "Whateva'! I do what I want!"

As Jews, we are not here on this earth to do whatever we want. We are here to do what The Almighty wants. Granted there is debate on the nuances of what that is or is not. Nonetheless, even if we "dialogue" with those with whom we disagree, which I happen to support, I believe very strongly that we always need to keep in the forefront of our kewanna (intent) the striving toward what The Almighty wants over what I want, or what others simply feel like doing, and bringing my fellow Jews back to this path as well.

And He does not want the Erev Rav to chip away at His Torah, nor at His Land, with or without the  so-called “Women of the Wall” as their pawns.

Women praying with talithoth at the Great Wall of China

As far as the the so-called “Women of the Wall” are concerned, it they want to pray at a wall, then they can pray at another ancient and famous wall, besides the Kothel, in a country much more “democratic” than Israel.