Mechitzah - Separation that Unites

An amusing story is found in a Midrash concerning a lion who had not eaten for an extended period of time and had acquired a rather questionable odor emanating from his mouth.  As the mighty lion traveled in the forest he met a silly donkey. "Does my breath smell badly?" the lion inquired of the donkey. "Yes, it certainly does!" replied the silly donkey. "How dare you insult me!" roared the lion and devoured the poor donkey. Traveling a bit further, he met the bear. "Does my breath smell badly?" he insured. "To tell the truth," said the bear, "Your odor is sweeter than honey!" "Flattery will get you nowhere!" At once he devoured the honest bear. Traveling on, he met the sly fox and, once again, proceeded to ask, "Does my breath smell badly?" The fox, knowing well in advance as to what had occurred, answered quite wisely, "Oh, pardon me, mighty king of all beasts. I cannot comment at all I have an awful cold."

I, for one, having recovered from my "cold." In our city of Los Angeles many strange happenings are taking place, and there is need for the Orthodox rabbis to announce in unison, "Dayenu" - ENOUGH!

I address myself specifically to the latest outrage at the disregard of our sacred tenant regarding Mechitzah and rules of Shul decorum.

          It has come to light that some of our Orthodox congregations are allowing the women to dance with Torahs and forgetting the need for separation between the women and men. One hears of a woman who brought her own Torah to the Shul, carrying it through the street, so she could have her own HaKofah (this being done to the consternation of the other women in Shul). Yet, at another congregation, we hear of the women having an official time to dance with the holy Torahs and not caring that there was   no Mechitzah whatsoever.

When we think of the past behavior displayed by our pure nation we never find a recorded incident of women dancing with a Torah on Simchas Torah. Nor do we find any recorded historic ruling where such behavior is encouraged or, for that matter, even condoned.

On the contrary, the rabbis and codifiers thought it inappropriate for women to form their own minyan and definitely did not permit communal Torah reading. This and more is well-known to those who have the most elementary knowledge of Torah! A woman has no obligation to participate in communal prayer nor organize a minyan, etc.

Lately, there has been much discussion if women can, indeed, have their own minyan and read from the Torah. In the same vein, there have been a few scholarly articles written concerning women dancing with the Torah.

One thing is certain, our Zadies and Bubbies never had such discussions. Most of all, our wonderful Bubbies would never be accused of entertaining or displaying such needs.

Our contemporary rabbis never allowed a woman to daven in front of the men with a Sefer Torah. To shlep a holy Sefer Torah to Shul so that women can dance is something of unheard of proportions (A Chillul HaShem).

Yes, for women to dance and display simcha - joy - is one thing, but to forget that many laws of Mechitzah were established due to the simcha behavior displayed on Simchas Bais HaShoeva (Festival of Sukkoth) is something else! Most disturbing is the lack of concern for the law just after we mark the anniversary of the founding law! (See Talmud Sukkah 51B).

I wish to bring a statement found in a wonderful book called, Jewish Women in Jewish Law, by a great Talmud Chochem, Rabbi Moshe Meiselman, Past Director of Academic Programs at Yeshiva University, Los Angeles. "An associated issue, although technically totally different, is the permissibility of women dancing in the synagogue with Torah scrolls during hakafot on Simchat Torah. This practice has been opposed by all contemporary rabbinic authorities. My revered teacher, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, told me that he opposed this practice when questioned by synagogues in Brookline, Massachusetts, and New York City. The basis for this ruling, he told me, is the Talmud in Berakhot, which says that just as there is etiquette that regulates one's behavior when visiting someone else's home so, too, there is a tradition that regulates behavior in the synagogue. Thus, for example, eating in the synagogue is not permitted. An element of proper synagogue behavior, such as prohibition of eating in the synagogue, is explicated in legal detail by the Talmud to the introduction of innovations which our ancestors considered to be in conflict with the feeling of respect and awe owed to the synagogue. Proper synagogue behavior is determined by practice and tradition. Since it has been the age-old practice of synagogues that women do not dance with the Torah scrolls during hakafot, the introduction of this practice would be a violation of synagogue etiquette."

True mechitzahs separate but, at the same time, they united us to the traditions of our holy nation - something that is expected from all of us.