The Women of the Wall, also known as WOW, are a religiously and socially distinctive group of women that join together once a month, on Rosh Chodesh to daven at the Western Wall, in Jerusalem, one of the Jews’ holiest sites. WOW has been doing this continually ever since the group’s establishment in December of 1989. The women who joined the union can be classified as “ Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, and self-defined Jews.” WOW is “unaffiliated with any group, religious or political, and is the only group in the Jewish religious world that brings together Jews from across the religious spectrum for the purpose of prayer.” They have battled since 1988 up until today to accomplish their purpose and their “life’s duty” to permit women to daven “freely” at the Western Wall (“Women for the Wall,” n.d.).
Women of the Wall feel that their essence is to accomplish their goal, which is for women to have the right to wear tallitot (prayer shawls) and read out loud from the Torah at the Western Wall. WOW state that women are forbidden from davening “freely” at the sanctified site and the only possibility that is accessible for women at the Western Wall is to daven silently and individually. Women of the Wall, feel that “Women and girls do not always have the opportunity to take active leadership roles in Jewish spiritual life. Women of the Wall strive to change this for women of all ages by providing this model of involvement and leadership of women and girls on all levels of Jewish prayer and celebration( “Women for the Wall,” 2014).” In which (wherein) they are, taking an active and vocal (verbal) role (part) in community prayer empowers them to use their voices (power of speech) in prayer and struggle, even in the f...
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...stood and from our perspective, we clearly see the goals and the reasons behind it. We know what is correct and desirable in Hashem’s eyes and our job is to follow the correct path. Let us not be discouraged, but used it as a motivation to serve and pray our God wholeheartedly.
References
Bayer, B. (2014). Women for the Wall’s founder to discuss traditional views of prayer at the Kotel. The Kansas City Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved from http:ww.kcjc.com/index
Szymkowicz, S. (n.d.). Women in Israel: “Women of the Wall.” Jewish Virtual Library.
Retrieved January 20, 2014 from http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/WOW.html
Women for the Wall. (n.d.). Retrieved January 20, 2014, from http://www.womenforthewall.org Women of the Wall. (2014). Retrieved January 20, 2014, from
http://www.womenofthewall.org.il
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