Women of the Wall Claiming Sacred Ground at Judaism's Holy Site [Paperback]

An Inspiration to All Who Struggle for Religious and Gender Equality

Our souls yearn to pray, in peace, in the sacred place, to read from our holy Torah, together with other Jewish women.
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In Israel today, the historic Western Wall, known as the Kotel, a holy site for Jewish people, is under the religious authority of the Orthodox rabbinate. Women have only limited rights to practice Jewish ritual in its precincts.

This passionate book documents the legendary grassroots and legal struggle of a determined group of Jewish women from Israel, the United States, and other parts of the worldknown as the Women of the Wallto win the right to pray out loud together as a group, according to Jewish law; wear ritual objects; and read from Torah scrolls at the Western Wall.

Eyewitness accounts of physical violence and intimidation, inspiring personal stories, and interpretations of legal and classical Jewish (halakhic) texts bring to life the historic and ongoing struggle that the Women of the Wall face in their everyday fight for religious and gender equality.

Prayer for Women of the Wall Rahel Jaskow Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Phyllis Chesler and Rivka Hautxix part i Women Who Pray at the Kotel: In Their Own Words Drama in Jerusalem Bonna Haberman Encountering Fear Sharon Pikus. A Personal Account Rahel Jaskow Interview with Anat Hoffman Phyllis Chesler Sacred Tears Rabbi Geela Rayzel Raphael Torah Dedication Ceremony Harriet Kurlander lC{