Ask the Rabbi

By Rabbi Gayle Pomerantz, Open Tent Founding Director

I remember the first time I ever visited the Western Wall (also known as the Wailing Wall or Kotel).  I was 16 years old and visiting Israel on the Alexander Muss High School in Israel program.  I had this vision in my head of what it would be like to see the Wall for the first time, to touch it with my own hands, to smell the ancient city of Jerusalem…and I was utterly disappointed.  First of all, the Wall looked much smaller than I had imagined, particularly the women’s side, which appeared to be about half the size of the men’s.  Secondly, on the women’s side of the Wall, nothing was happening.  All the action was on the men’s side – dancing, singing, praying out loud.  And then, what was especially irksome, was that many women and girls had lined up by the partition, and were watching the activity on the men’s side, without any thought to making things happen on the women’s side.  I vowed then and there, that I would one day return to the Wall and with devotion and love, bring life to the women’s side.

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