Kotel Bli Mechitza

 It is always imperative to visit the Kotel when in Jerusalem. To be as close as possible to the Temple that once stood on Mount Moriah. Even if it is just the retaining wall that Herod built to hold up the expanded Temple of his day, there is something powerful about being in the presence of these Jerusalem stones.

I have prayed in the women's section of the Kotel quite a few times. I have been in the women's section for a service with 'Women of the Wall', a group of progressive religious women who pray with Tallit and Kippot and have experienced harassment from the religious leaders who run the Western Wall Heritage Foundation. But for the first time on this trip to the Kotel with my husband, who is a Reform Rabbi, we were able to walk to the platform created for mixed gender prayer at the Kotel (see picture left), and continue right down to the stones of the wall together! I have to say that for both he and I, it was a powerful moment. There are the prayer notes of the people who came before us. The stones are lower down than the ones visible in the Western Wall plaza and have the older form of framing border around the stone face (see picture right). We were asked as we entered this new area for Jewish prayer if we were indeed going down to pray, to which we answered yes. My prayer was that we as Jews can learn to appreciate all the diverse paths to our God and decrease the judgements and separations that keep us from being fully in community together.

Side note: There are restrictions to how one can pray in this new egalitarian section of the Kotel. No musical instruments are allowed and no candle lighting. I must say personally that I look forward to the day when all of Israel can celebrate with voice and instruments together.

Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem.