The Western Wall or “kotel” (literally: wall), as
it is known in Hebrew and among Jews around the world, is an icon of Jewish identity.
That it be regarded as among the holiest sites in Jewish tradition is somewhat
debatable, but there is no doubt that it serves as the most concrete reminder and
proof of an ancient Jewish presence in Jerusalem. One of the highlights of the
Six Day War was the reunification of Jerusalem and the “recapture” of the
kotel, which the Jordanians had kept off-limits to Jews since 1948. Virtually
every new visitor to Israel will make a stop at the kotel and perhaps place a
kvitel (a note of prayer) between the hoary cracks of its golden stone blocks.
Worship at the kotel is under the control of the
Rabbi of the Wall, Shmuel Rabinovitch, who as a functionary of the Ministry of
Religion, keeps the kotel operating under strict Orthodox law. As such, men and
women cannot prayer together, a mehitzah or divider separates
male and female sections (the women’s section only a third the size of the male
section), and women who dare to read from the Torah risk arrest by the police
stationed at the wall. Some years ago, during a Midway trip to Israel, our
group of 20 stood together for Kabbalat Shabbat about as far from the kotel as
one could be without leaving the plaza. We were cursed at a couple of times,
spat at, and a police officer told us that we were not allowed to do what we
were doing. We were praying! Jews praying, inconspicuously, at a Jewish holy
site, in the Jewish state, were told by a Jewish police officer, to stop
praying. Needless to say, the incident was as bizarre as it was outrageous. And
it is incidents of this nature, experienced countless times by other liberal
Jewish groups, which has exercised the international Jewish community to the
point of demanding equal access to the kotel, an issue that has gone straight
to the upper echelons of the Knesset, to Prime Minister Netanyahu himself.
We never secured equal access, but we got a
compromise. In January 2016, the government decided to expand a small swath adjacent
to the kotel, not presently under the jurisdiction of Rabbi Rabinovitch, with
the intent of dedicating it to all liberal Jewish groups who wish to pray at
the kotel free of Orthodox harassment. In truth, I was conflicted over the
agreement. First, because it left the most recognizable section of the kotel, that
part of the kotel that everyone recognizes as the kotel, under Orthodox
control. That was wrong because an international symbol of Jewish identity
ought to be a place for all Jews, not just some Jews, and certainly not as few
Jews as the Orthodox represent. Second, I had many apprehensions about the area
to be renovated. That area has never been “cleaned up” as has the main plaza in
front of the kotel. That area, also known as Robinson’s Arch, is a living
testimony to the Temple’s destruction, complete with stone blocks that fell
from the Temple Mount, emptied store fronts, and broken pathways. Whenever I
visit Jerusalem, I go to that spot and recite the following:
Rabban Yohanan ben
Zakkai was once walking with his disciple Rabbi Joshua near Jerusalem after the
destruction of the Temple. Rabbi Joshua looked at the Temple ruins and said: “Alas
for us! The place which atoned for the sins of the Jewish people Israel through
the ritual of animal sacrifice lies in ruins!” Then Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai
spoke to him these words of comfort: “Be not grieved, my son. There is another
way of gaining atonement even though the Temple is destroyed. We must now gain
atonement through deeds of lovingkindness.” For it is written: “Lovingkindness
I desire, not sacrifice” (Hosea 6:6). Avot
D’Rabbi Natan 11a
I did not want the Israeli government to “clean
up” the powerful reminders of destruction in order to allow enhanced access. I
want those exhibits of destruction staring us in the face and the face of all Israel,
warnings of what could again be, should we ever let down our guard.
As they say, be careful what you wish for. At the
end of June 2017, Prime Minister Netanyahu froze the plan to expand the
egalitarian prayer space. He did so under pressure from the ultra-Orthodox
parties who threatened to leave and thus break-up Netanyahu’s delicate
government coalition if the plan came to fruition. Netanyahu’s retreat from his
word and his kowtowing to the Orthodox parties outraged liberal Jews the world
over. And there you have it: the kotel has been kidnapped by the ultra-Orthodox
of Israel, disenfranchising world Jewry. What to do?
During my service as an officer of the Rabbinical
Assembly, I had suggested that the Conservative/Masorti Movement get involved
in politics, create our own political party which if sufficiently popular, could
win us some seats in the Knesset. It’s a good thing I was generally well-liked
because if not, I would have been shot on the spot. No one liked the idea. They
raised some good points: Church and state (in this case, synagogue and state)
ought to be separate; politics is dirty; let’s never become one with power
because it keeps us from speaking truth to power, etc. Then there were my points:
We have been speaking truth to power for a long time, and guess what—the
Israelis don’t care. We are not part of the government, our indigenous Israeli
demographic remains relatively modest, and most Israelis don’t need the kotel as
a place of worship. This issue is very much our issue, not theirs. Some have
suggested, not without reason, that we be more conscientious in our giving to
Israel, assuring that our dollars go to those organizations that reflect our
values, that is, Masorti organizations. I have no argument with that, but we still
must support Israel through Federation, Israel Bonds, AIPAC, Jewish National
Fund, and sundry other organizations whose raison detre is the strengthening of
the greatest Jewish miracle of the 20th and 21st
centuries—Israel. Nonetheless, however targeted our future giving may be, our
fundamental message of egalitarianism and freedom of worship will remain where
it presently is, in the sal p’solet (Hebrew for waste-paper basket).
All this should resurrect the political option. It’s
not a terrible idea. The fact is that Israel is a Jewish state, and a place
where Jews are welcomed to exercise political power as Jews. We don’t need to soft-pedal
our Jewishness as we might in America in order to participate in the political
process. Israel is different. It is a democratic state and a Jewish state. Our
decision to live on the sidelines has simply left us on the side lines—and in
the dust. As for the tendency of politics to corrupt, we ought to be a tad more
honest. Not every politician is corrupt and the clergy’s distance from the
Halls of Government has not made it immune to corruption. Jewish clergy have
fared better than others, but we’ve had our share of shondas (embarrassments)
with politics playing no role.
The liberal Jewish world is prone to getting
sidetracked by issues that ultimately don’t matter. The kotel should be free of
Orthodox control, free to all Jews to worship as they please, and a symbol of
Jewish unity, not divisiveness. But right now, we are in danger of the kotel crisis
directing our energies away from issues that deserve even greater attention. What
the Conservative/Masorti movement needs to focus on more than anything else is
not why we cannot pray at the kotel, but why so many liberal Jews, see no
reason to pray at all. That kotel has been kidnapped. Very sad! But the kotel
may end up as a kidnapper, keeping us away from the problems we face right here
in North America. Let’s be sure that does not happen. As for our friends in
Israel who want to make serious change, start with changing the faces in the
Knesset. You’ll get my support.
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