Photo from blog.myjli.com
Haaretz reports that Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman has instructed the principals of girls’ seminaries in the Jerusalem area to send their students to conduct prayer services at the Western Wall this Friday morning. Religious Zionist rabbis have also called for such a protest. For the first time since their legal victory permitting them to pray at the Kotel outside of orthodox customs, the Women of the Wall (WOW), will hold their monthly Rosh Chodesh services.
I find it amusing that although the haredi community is decrying the victory of Women of the Wall, at the same time, they are inspired to encourage their girls to join WOW at the Kotel by holding counter services. This is the first time in recent memory that a Kol Koreh (call to action) has been issued concerning women, that doesn’t have anything to do with skirt lengths.
Shira Pruce, Director of Public Relations for then original Women of the Wall told The Jewish Press that she was honored and delighted for having inspired so many thousands of women to come and pray at the Kotel on Rosh Chodesh.
“If women of the Wall has inspired thousands of women to come to the Kotel, Amen V’amen,” she said.
For a community obsessed with wiping female images from the public eye, why send its girls right into the lens? Surely, the haredi rabbanim must know that the Kotel will be swarming with media taking videos and pictures on the women’s side. Journalists are just waiting for a fight to break out tomorrow, although the rabbanim are calling for no violence.
It seems that when it serves the haredi community’s purposes, it’s fine to have women standing front and center posing for the cameras. Haredi men finally got the memo that they look like misogynistic bullies, yelling and throwing things at non-haredi women coming to daven at the Kotel. Now they are sending their women, really their girls, to fight this public relations battle for them.
If these seminary girls were truly outraged by the Women of the Wall, wouldn’t they have staged their own protest at the Kotel a long time ago? To me, it seems like they are puppets on a string. When the leader of a community instructs his followers to do something, are they really doing it of their own accord?
Despite the media circus, I hope that all girls and women davening at the Kotel on Friday are able to do so with kavvana and emunah. They should have their tefillot answered for this new month of Sivan, whatever those prayers may be.
