Let My People Go ... To The Western Wall

Let My People Go … To The Western Wall

By Rabbi Charlie Savenor

In just a few days we will celebrate Passover, commemorating the Exodus from Egypt and the birth of our people. The process of freedom begins with Moses urging Pharaoh to “Let my people go!” This mantra called for the Jewish people to have the freedom to praise God in our own way.

On March 12^th I had the unique privilege of davening (praying) with over 350 people at “Wake Up for Religious Tolerance” in support of Women of the Wall. Every Rosh Chodesh (the beginning of the Hebrew month) these dedicated, brave women advocate for freedom of Jewish religious expression at the Kotel, assembling in the women’s section to pray, connect and celebrate their Judaism together.

The inspiring service at Town and Village Synagogue included Jews of all ages, from all movements. The mission was similar to our people's original call for religious freedom, “Let my people go!” However, this time the struggle is a private, existential one, located in our spiritual homeland.

To pray to God in our own way.

 

In just a few days, we will gather around the Seder table. The centerpiece of this experience, besides the Seder plate, is questioning, beginning with the well-known refrain, “Mah nishtanah?” How is this night different from all other nights?
 

As we approach Passover this year, four new questions have emerged for the Kotel, the State of Israel and Jewish community worldwide.

1) On all other days, we “break bread”as a sign of coming together, but today, why does the unity of the Jewish people feels like it’s crumbling like matzah?

The Kotel, considered by many to be Judaism’s holiest site, has become off limits to liberal Jews, especially women who want to wear a tallit, read Torah and even recite the Shema out loud. With every passing month, more and more women, like my friend Rabbi Robyn Fryer Bodzin, have been arrested for this act of prayer.

It feels heretical to state but sometimes, the Kotel feels like a sacred wall between the liberal Jews and the State of Israel.
 

2) During Passover we remember the leadership, courage and song of Miriam, sister of Moses. Tonight, why can’t we hear the voice of the myriad modern day Miriams at the Kotel?
 

After the Six Day War, we cried tears of joy when we heard the words: "The Kotel is in our hands!" With religious pluralism in Israel in question, is this still true?

Who is included in the word “Our?”
 

The tragic truth is that just a few decades later, the Kotel, an eternal symbol of Israel and Jewish life, has been rezoned as an orthodox synagogue. This new incarnation of the Kotel excludes the millions of liberal Jews who visit the Western Wall and want to daven in their own, authentic way.

Judaism is a heritage that honors its matriarchs. Miriam led the women in song at the Red Sea. Hannah created the paradigm for prayer. Esther inspired a community to action through fasting and introspection.

Today female voices have been silenced at the Western Wall. As a result, the Kotel has become a no-man's land - or a no woman zone to be more accurate - for most of Am Yisrael.

3) Visiting the Kotel can be a moment of tremendous joy, so why for many has this experience become a bitter one?

 

What’s happening in Israel is not just about the Kotel and the Women of the Wall. It is a symptom of a larger phenomenon of limited religious tolerance in Israel in general.

Twenty years I led a USY group on a tour of Poland and Israel. After a week of visiting death camps, we landed in Israel and our first stop was the Western Wall. As we started to pray in the back of the plaza, a handful of haredi (ultra orthodox) men gathered around us, calling us names like “goyim” and“Nazis”. They loudly demanded that we disband. One even spat in our direction.

As our staff made a circle around our group, thankfully, at this very instant, a handful of Kotel security guards approached our group. I was certain that the guards would tell the haredim to leave us alone.
 

Instead, with a tired shrug, they directed us to disband. Their frustrated expression exposed that they have done this before.

We came not to provoke, but rather to invoke God’s presence at a sacred site. What had been tears of joy after Poland were now sobs of sorrow and confusion in Israel.
 

4) On all other days we can sit or recline, so why must we stand up today?

For years the Israeli government has either been silent or given lip-service about the growing fundamentalist threat within its own borders and the need for religious pluralism. It was the same message I received from the shrugging Kotel guard nearly 20 years ago: it is just easier to go along, so no one gets hurt.

However, by remaining silent for too long, our homeland has sacrificed its inner peace. Even worse, the silence has been mistaken for permission to curse at, spit upon, arrest and detain those who do not conform to certain religious standards.

We can be silent no longer. We must stand up for religious equality in Israel.

For years we have stood with Israel. Now we need Israel to stand with us.

By some cruel twist of fate, non-haredi Jews have largely become spiritual refugees in their own land. What gives me hope is that Natan Sharansky, the most famous Soviet refusenik, now head of the Jewish Agency  understands what is at stake when Jews are barred from their homeland and its holy sites.

Passover is a time of hope in new beginnings. In the spirit of this great epic tale – the story of the birth of the Jewish People -- let us raise our voices as one and proclaim, “Let my people go!” … to the Kotel.

 

Rabbi Charlie Savenor is the International Director of Kehilla (Congregational) Enrichment for United Synagogue. He is currently writing a book on parenting. He can be reached at savenor@uscj.org.