Women of the Wall: Claiming Sacred Ground at Judaism’s Holy Site

A recent ruling of the Israeli Supreme Court found that the Women of the Wall could not pray collectively at the Kotel (Western Wall). A panel of the Court had ruled in 2000 that they could pray together and read from the Torah at this historic site but the permission was reversed when the full court reconsidered this matter. This is the latest episode in the controversial drama that began in 1988 when a group of women from different Jewish backgrounds chose to pray communally at the Kotel. This volume is a collection of articles by women involved in this issue, with personal accounts and Halakhic, legal and political interpretations. Included are pieces by JOFA veterans Rivka Haut (co-editor of the book), Norma Baumel Joseph and Susan Aranoff. As the introduction says this volume is “our way of presenting ourselves to the world as we really are.”