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The Controversies at the Kotel

By Rabbi Marc D. Angel

The Kotel currently operates under the governance of Orthodox rabbinic authorities. There is a separation between men and women. Women's prayer groups or non-Orthodox prayer services are not allowed. Recently a woman was arrested for violating the Orthodox rules that govern the Kotel area. A group known as Women of the Wall insist that women be given greater access to prayer at the Kotel. Non-Orthodox groups insist that the Kotel should be available for non-Orthodox prayer services, without separation of genders.  Many Orthodox Jews find the current situation unsatisfactory for a variety of reasons.

It is very sad that the Kotel--which should be a unifying spiritual center for the Jewish people--is in fact a source of controversy.  I would like to offer a suggestion, however strange it may seem at first glance.

My opinion is that no formal prayer services should be allowed at the wall--not for men, not for women, not for Orthodox, not for non-Orthodox. The Kotel should be a place for private prayer and meditation, and that's it. If people want to have formal prayer services, they should reserve space in the enclosed areas to the left of the Kotel square; and those services should be conducted however the group that reserves the space wants.

I fully understand that my suggestion will be totally rejected by the current religious authorities who control the Kotel. But these authorities alienate the vast majority of Jews, and treat the Kotel as though it is their own--when it in fact belongs to all the Jewish people. My suggestion has the advantage of taking the Kotel area out of the realm of religious controversy. Perhaps we can hope that the powers-that-be in Israel will understand their responsibility to keep the Kotel as a spiritual center for all the Jewish people; and this can best be done (I think) by reserving the Kotel only for private prayer and meditation, with no formal prayer services conducted by any groups. 

What do you think?

DerekFields's picture

Prayer at the Kotel

Submitted by DerekFields on January 18, 2010 - 6:03pm.

What would you do the first time some group convened a minyan at the Kotel? If 10 men (or women or a mixed group) stood near each other and conducted a prayer service including Barchu and Kaddish, would you have them arrested? Would you send in police to break them up? If not, then what would constitute prohibited prayer and how would that prohibition be enforced?

I don't think that suggestion is wrong so much as it is impractical and unenforceable. What would be most appropriate would be to allow any type of service to be held at the Kotel. What a group of people do amongst themselves should not be subject to regulation, so long as they are not engaged in violent or anti-social behavior. The Kotel can be a unifying Jewish location only when the diversity of Jewish expression is recognized as part of and not opposed to that unity.

Yair_ben_Avraham's picture

Prayer at the Kotel

Submitted by Yair_ben_Avraham on January 19, 2010 - 1:34pm.
I also think that Rabbi Angel's proposal is a really good idea in theory, but probably unenforceable. When I have been at the Kotel it has saddened me the degree to which the Haredi population exerts control over the site, while doing nothing to prevent the members of that community from interrupting the prayers of non-Haredi visitors in order to ask for money. I was in J'lem for several days a couple of years ago and went to the Kotel every day, and every time I prayed there I was accosted for donations to this or that cause, while I was obviously praying. So if this segment of the population is willing to behave this way, I don't see how on earth they will settle for an arrangement like the one proposed above. On the other hand, it would be nice to see the State stand up to the bullying this crowd often dishes out, and for it to protect the right of the Jewish people as a whole to Jewish spiritual practice and holy places. Unfortunately, I can't really think of any suggestions for how to address the problem, either.
NG's picture

"The Wall"

Submitted by NG on January 20, 2010 - 5:19pm.
Since there's nothing intrinsically special about the wall adjacent to Har HaBayit except that it's in Jerusalem, I propose another solution: Jewish prayer will be allowed on Har HaBayit. Since the Haredim won't ascend to Har HaBayit and the "Women of the Wall" are by definition concerned only with "the Wall," the space in the plaza in front of Har HaBayit can then be rearranged to create three sections: one for Haredi men, one for Haredi women, and one for "Women of the Wall" and foreign tourists.
louis3105's picture

Prayer at Kotel Obfuscates Real Place of Prayer -- On Har HaBayi

Submitted by louis3105 on February 11, 2010 - 5:37am.
Why pray outside the King's castle when we actually pray in his courtyard. Unfortunately the Kotel area has become fancy with new Aronot Kodesh, a real synagogue in the left passageway, fancy glass areas and more. All of this lends an air of permanence to davening at the Kotel, as if this is what HaShem truly intended. But he didn't. We had a temple and IY"H will have it again. WE SHOULD PRAYING UP TOP, ON HAR HABAYIT. We should not accept the status quo as it is abominable. Equally disturbing are the silly Charedi humrot which are now encroaching: the areas in front of the restrooms are now separated. You need to go around a fence to access the men's restrooms. All men must go up 3 steps to access the restroom... will this Taliban-style separation between men and women really hasten the final redemption or help with the marriage crisis? =================================== louis@machonshilo.org www.machonshilo.org Machon Shilo - Torah LeAm VeLaAretz ===================================
mikewinddale's picture

Impractical and Ill-Advised

Submitted by mikewinddale on February 14, 2010 - 9:37am.

I agree with the first two commenters, that Rabbi Angel's suggestion is impractical, not to mention ill-advised even in theory. Can we - and more importantly, should we - ban all minyamin at the Kotel? Are we going to have police check to see if ten men are standing within proximity to each other, with their lips moving? This screams of fascism and totalitarian oppression, just as evil as what the Haredim are already doing.

I've argued that there should be three sections at the Kotel: male, female, and mixed. However, I've seen that now, someone more right-wing than myself has advocated something more radical and left-wing (which I will discuss in a moment). This just goes to show that knowledge is power, and that the real source of most conservatism and opposition to innovation is simply ignorance. This someone is more right-wing than me, but his opinion here is more leftist than mine, simply because he knew information that I was ignorant of.

Rabbi Harry Maryles has just now argued that in truth, the minyanim at the Kotel are halakhically ad-hoc ones, like at a wedding or in a mourner's home. Such minyanim do not require a mehitza. Says Rabbi Maryles, only buildings sanctified and designated as synagogues, with regular minyanim therein, require mehitzot. None of the minyanim at the Kotel are scheduled with a regular congregation, and therefore, he says, no mehitza is required.See http://haemtza.blogspot.com/2010/02/separating-sexes-at-kotel.html

shlomomarmer91's picture

The Controversies at the Kotel

Submitted by shlomomarmer91 on April 14, 2010 - 12:17pm.
The idea of disbanding all future minyanim at the Kotel is not only "unenforceable" but also childish in nature and practice. If two parties cannot establish a middle ground that allows conciliation the result cannot and should not be mutual suicide, that is simply recalcitrant. It is a step back from unification and accord. The two parties need to use the confrontation's they have with each other to establish tranquility not limit the encounters.In regard to the issue of the Mehitzot forgive me if I misinterpret your opinion, mikewinddale, but they are in place not essential due to Halacha but to accommodate personal sensitivity. The idea that there are Mehitzot in place should not offend anyone but simply cater to those who would be offend if lack there of.A solution to the problem in my mind is quite simple, if one wishes to have a mixed or exclusively female minyan there is a courtyard behind the Mehitzot which is currently used for personal meditation. Enforcing something people will find offensive or outlawing all practices is animosity and borderline vigilante. 
micheal's picture

The Controversies at the

Submitted by micheal on June 3, 2010 - 10:33am.
The modern Orthodox community might also rightly reply: if you have a halakhic/hashkafic point of view, please express it fully and with proper citations to Torah, Talmud and sources in rabbinic literature. Thanks a lot.