Rabbi's Messages

on Monday, 04 November 2013.

RABBI'S MESSAGE FOR NOVEMBER 2013

Earlier this week, on the first day of the month of Kislev, hundreds of women (and men too!) met at the Western Wall in Jerusalem to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Women of the Wall (WOW).  For two and a half decades, WOW have met on the first day of every Hebrew month to assert their right to pray and sing together publicly as Jewish women.

Have the Women of the Wall achieved their aims? Well, sort of. On the one hand, Israel’s Supreme Court handed down a decision only a few months ago affirming the right of women to gather and pray at the Kotel. On the other hand, Ultra-Orthodox opposition has only grown stronger in the face of the WOW’s very public campaign.  And while Israeli public opinion is still deeply split, the major victory has been in raising issues of women’s equality and freedom to worship into public dialogue.

Anat Hoffman, Chair of Women of the Wall, told Haaretz this week that victory “will come when we are able to offer Israelis a choice at the Western Wall.”

Let us not miss the significance of Jews gathering on the first Kislev to fight for their religious freedom. More than 2000 years ago, another group of Jews struggled for their freedom, and dedicated an eight day festival during Kislev to that victory. The difference, of course, is that that Maccabees’ struggle was against a foreign power, where the Women of the Wall are pitted against their own chief rabbinate.

Kislev is a season of religious freedom. It is the month of the year when we remember those who fought so that Jews could worship as Jews. We have two events this month to help us celebrate:

On November 22 at 6:30, please join us for Rock Shabbat, a musical extravaganza of a Shabbat service, followed by an ice cream sundae bar. The Macabees never prayed with electric guitars, but it is thanks to their struggle that we can!

Then, on November 29 at 6:30, it’s the Night of a Thousand Candles¸ our annual Chanukah service in which we light up the sanctuary with the glow of our menorahs. Bring your own chanukiyah and candles, and join us for dinner afterward. (RSVP to Jay Kowal for dinner only.)

Let us celebrate our Jewish religious freedom, and let us continue to fight for the rights of Jews – and all people – to worship as they please.

L’shalom,
Rabbi Micah Streiffer