Unequal Distribution At The Kotel

Rabbi Dov Lipman wrote an interesting, and important, op-ed in the Jerusalem Post about women at the Kotel.

The piece is mostly focused on the inequality of how the space in front of the Kotel s divided up between the men and the women. The men have a very large area, probably about 80% of the space along the length of the wall, along with a large indoor section as well. Except when it is unusually crowded, men have plenty of space to spread out and to approach the Wall.

On the women's side, on the other hand, the amount of space is very small, and there is not really an indoor section for those days where one needs protection from the extreme elements (e.g. heavy rain, hot and glaring sun, etc.). The women are crowded in a number of rows deep, and it is not easy either to spread out or for any individual woman to approach the Wall without waiting a long time for her turn.

even on what looks like a quiet day, the women
are crowded and men have lots of empty space

Anybody going to the Kotel has noticed the discrepancy and most have probably wondered how this came to be. I know I did.

Rabbi Lipman suggests that the space be divided more equally between the mens side and the womens side. the mechitza should be a mobile mechitza, generally placed in or near the middle but moveable for those occasions where there is unusual crowding on one of the sides.

I think it is a great idea.

From Jpost:

My wife and I chose to bring our daughter to the Kotel, the Western Wall, on the night she turned 12. We figured what better way to begin her life as a bat mitzva than praying at the site where our ancient Temple stood. I prepared myself for inspiration as I watched her approach the wall with her mother – but instead experienced great indignation.

The men’s side of the partition consisted of a single line of men along the entire length of the wall. The women’s side, which is far less than half the size of the men’s side, was stuffed with women six rows deep. My wife could only bring my daughter up to the wall after waiting a long time and, even then, had to push her way through.

I watched this happen and could not believe the disgrace to my daughter, to my wife, and to all women. Then, as I continued to observe my daughter praying, I could not avoid noticing how women had to wait and push to get close to the wall while on the men’s side, they could easily and immediately walk up to the wall. The time has come for this situation to change! A brief overview of what the classic Torah sources say about women demands that the situation at the Kotel must change.

Right at the beginning of Creation, the Torah describes that God created one being: “male and female He created them.” If there was only one being, why is it described as “male and female” and referred to as “them?” The Talmud explains that God fashioned an original being which embodied both male and female characteristics and then separated that one being into two. Why did God do it that way? Why didn’t he make them into separate male and female beings from the start? Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, one of the most prominent Orthodox rabbis of the 19th century, explained as follows: “So that what was previously one creature was not two, and thereby the complete equality of women forever attested.”

Complete equality! Not a secondary being who should be treated differently from the men in terms of access to the wall and feeling that closeness to God.

Our tradition actually goes even beyond demanding equality and puts women on a pedestal. The Talmud teaches that the Jews were redeemed from slavery in Egypt due to the merit of Jewish women, and that the women did not worship the golden calf or believe the negative report of the spies about Israel. Our salvation in the Hanukka and Purim stories came because our women rose to the occasion. According to our tradition, women have “binah yeteira” – an ability to understand and comprehend which has repeatedly helped save the Jewish people throughout history.

Finally, Maimonides taught in medieval times, when most men in the world treated women as nothing more than property, that “a husband must honor his wife more than his own self.”

How, exactly, does making a woman go through such effort and experience such discomfort while praying at the Kotel fit the command to honor our wives more than ourselves? The conditions for women at the Kotel are disturbing for an additional reason. The Talmud (Tractate Brachot 31a) teaches that we learn the most basic laws of prayer from... a woman! It is absurd that the men praying with such comfort at the wall, are praying based on the example of a woman, while the women themselves must struggle to achieve meaningful prayer on their side of the partition.

A reasonable solution to this issue starts with changing the location of the partition to the middle of the Kotel plaza. That is equality! That is respect! The partition should be portable so that it can be shifted based on the needs of either side.

This idea is simple, practical and fair.

I must take this issue of women at the wall one step further. I completely agree with the policy of observing halacha, traditional Jewish law, at the Kotel. This is the place where the Temple stood and total reverence to the traditional understanding of God’s will should be observed in such a holy place. That is why there must be a partition between the women and men.

However, the guidelines and policies should not go beyond basic laws and cross into the realm of stringencies and customs. Women should have the freedom to do that which enables them to connect best to God if it conforms to halacha.

Therefore, since according to Jewish law there is nothing wrong with a woman wearing a tallit, why are women not permitted to wear a tallit at the Kotel? It is correct that traditionally women have not worn them, but a woman violates no Jewish law when she does. Creating legislation forbidding women to wear a tallit simply because it rubs certain individuals the wrong way is not valid. Everyone should focus on their own prayers and not be concerned with how others connect to God. And, if men are the ones complaining, I must ask: Why are they looking at the women’s side of the partition anyway? 

The time has come for us to recognize that the State of Israel is a blessing from God which can be a unifying force for the Jewish people instead of a polarizing force. It should be a vehicle for embracing more people to connect to their Judaism instead of pushing them away from it. What I witnessed at the Kotel that night, and hearing about women being arrested for wearing a tallit while praying there, creates polarization and distancing without any Torah or rabbinic law having been transgressed.

I hope all women view this as a call to action. If Jewish women have been praised throughout history for saving the day, perhaps it is time for women to end this madness as well.

Women should rise up and demand that while accepting halacha at the Kotel is important, the degradation of women will no longer be tolerated. Let us begin correcting this lack of respect by erecting a moveable partition which starts every day with half the wall for men and half the wall for women.

We now find ourselves in the days during which we commemorate the miraculous return of the Kotel to our hands. There is, no doubt, a strong religious connotation to these celebrations and these remind us that the Kotel is a holy place where everyone can agree that halacha should be observed.

But that can be accomplished without the current policies toward women. Our holy women demand better treatment than this. I want my next daughter to have no problem approaching that special wall on her bat mitzva night.

I agree 100% with Rabbi Lipman on this issue. There is no reason for the women to be crowded in like that. The space should be divided up more equally, and allowing for a flexible mechitza makes a lot of sense.


I dislike the inclusion of the women wearing tallit issue as part of the article. I agree that people should mind their own business, and if it is not going against halacha, and technically women are allowed to wear tzitzit even though today it is uncommon and perhaps only done today as a sign of womens lib or some form of progressive Judaism, the issue should be ignored when it happens rather than turned into a fight. 


In a discussion (on Facebook) about that very point, Rabbi Lipman insists the issues are connected - he says they are both the result of extremists being in control of the Kotel area, and really of Judaism in general. (I hope I am presenting his position accurately - Rabbi Lipman is welcome, as always, to write a guest post here in response to clarify his position or to respond to my thoughts). The extremists stick their nose into what other people do, they stop the women from wearing tallit at the Kotel on the womens side of the mechitza turning the issue into a big fight where people from both sides often get arrested, and they are also responsible for the crowding of the women into a small section.


I don't know the history of how the plaza was divided up. I don't know how the women got such a small section compared to the expanse of the mens section. Perhaps someone can fill me in with the history and background of this. I do not think it has anything to do with extremists controlling the area and determining that women should only have a small amount of space. For whatever reason, originally it was divided up unequally and has remained so until this day. Perhaps nobody has tried hard enough to get it redesigned and more equally distributed.


not everything is an issue of extremism. 


Yes, it is unfair and unequal. yes there is a need to rectify the situation. No, not everything needs to be turned into a big fight of survival and existence.






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