Today started off incredibly early, but totally worth it. At 6:45 am we were aboard a bus to the old city to join the Women of the Wall for morning services in honor of Rosh Chodesh. I have received emails each month reminding me that it is Rosh Chodesh and that I am invited to join them for services at 7:00 am at the Western Wall. However, it's a bit of a commute from Orange County, California to Israel. But today, I was here and no matter how tired I was, I could not miss being there on this, the 20th anniversary of the Women of the Wall.
We met where we usually do, in the back of the Western Wall Plaza. Women put on their tallitot and wear kippot. We gather tightly around the shaliach tzibur, prayer leader, as she chants us through the Birkat HaShachar. We come to Halleluyah, and it was all we could do to hold back our voices from singing out. But we did not hold back, we sang. 75 strong, we sang out, thanking God for this moment and this morning. And from behind us, behind their mechitzah, the men from CCAR allowed their voices to rise out as well.
However, our voices were not alone. First, there were the orthodox school girls. Very curious about us. It was turn of events as we usually took pictures of them, they took pictures of us. Then there were the voices from the men's side. A very loud and angry man yelling, "women's voices should not be heard! Be quiet! Get out of here! I should not have to hear your voices! You are ruining this holy place!"
The louder he yelled and a few others joined in, the louder we sang out. And, yes, there were a couple of female attendants who were supposed to be security. One got in our faces and yelled at us that this was wrong. The other slowly pulled the cover of her fleece over her face and pulled the strings tight in order that she might be able to drown out the sounds. One woman came up to our friend Debbie and asked her why she wore that tallit and she should take it off. Debbie, not missing a beat said, "why, would you like to try it on?" The woman, in disbelief, stormed off.
Our voices rang out and up and the men of CCAR sang out with us, from behind and on their side as close as they could be to us. Yet, it was finally time for us to join together.
After the amidah, we quietly left the plaza and with a green duffle bag carrying the T
orah, made our way to the area called Robbinson's arch. It is the continuation of the Western Wall, but in an area that allows us to pray together, men and women. And their, on the old Roman street from before 70 CE, we stood, with Torah, tallitot, t'fillin, and song, and we prayed. We read Torah, offered Mi Sheberach, blessings, for the women rabbis present, the future women rabbis, and the Women of the Wall, that they should continue to allow their voices to rise up in song.
Finally, Rosh Chodesh and Jerusalem are magical places. It was there this morning that I turned back to return to my place after the blessing for Torah and came face to face with the young woman who was my first Bat Mitzvah student in Colorado. 13 years ago, Amanda and I stood at the ark and I blessed her as a Bat Mitzvah. And today, we blessed one another and shared tears of joy and thanks for being brought together in a very special place and a very special time.
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