Devarim
Proclaim Liberty to the Wall
The
Talmud reports that the Temple was destroyed because of baseless hatred among
Jews. On Monday, on Rosh Hodesh Av, the
day that begins the intense mourning period for the destruction of the Temple,
I witnessed the Talmud’s words come to life.
I
accompanied my wife and 300 other women and joined Women of the Wall for their
monthly prayer group. We were called
Nazis and Amalekites, Israel’s ancient sworn enemy. A few eggs were thrown. My friend’s daughters were spit on. We continued to pray. We sang, “Ozi v’zimrat yah—my strength and
songs to God will be my salvation.” (Psalm 118:14)
The
morning began, ironically enough, at Liberty Bell Park where the police
insisted we gather before traveling to the Wall. There we boarded buses for the short drive to
the Dung Gate. We were accompanied by
police cars and then escorted by officers through the entrance to the Western
Wall plaza. Haredi, ultra-Orthodox,
leaders had bused Haredi girls to the Wall ahead of our arrival and filled the
women’s section with 5,000 young girls.
The police determined that it would be impossible for Women of the Wall
to pray at the Wall and so they only allowed the group into an area just inside
the entrance. We stood in a group, enclosed
by police and their barricades, and surrounded by thousands of screaming Haredi
men on one side and women on the other.
They shouted at our prayers. They
blew whistles to drown out our singing of Hatikvah.