The whole uproar over the Women of the Wall (WoW) continues in the media as each month they gather for the Rosh Chodesh morning service at The Kotel.
Recently, in The Times of Israel there was an excellent piece by Hannah Katsman on Tolerance. Her point is just outstanding and articulates well what I have not been able to articulate for years. It's important and nuanced and needs to be internalized. I recommend reading her whole piece. But I'll attempt to extrapolate from it here a bit.
Asking others to meet your stricter religious observance in fact is a level of intolerance. There has to be room at the table for everyone.
The problem with the protests of the WoW is that they are being told that their presence and prayer are offensive to the most religious and that we must cater to the needs of the most religious to make space for everyone at The Kotel. But that ends up ONLY making space for the most religious and not leaving room for the less religious who find spiritual meaning in other ways and forms from the most religious.
It is as if I, as a vegetarian, were to insist that at every event I went to or meal out it had to be vegetarian so I could eat everything on the table. That's imposing my minority position, which happens to be a more stringent dietary standard, on everyone. Instead there could simply be proper labeling of food and it would be my responsibility to make sure to bring a dish that I would find satisfying. Now if the other hosts want to go the extra mile and encourage others to bring vegetarian meals that is wonderful but not necessary.
It's a tricky line - especially for the Jews, I would argue - because we have been oppressed for so many years for our religious beliefs. Isn't it great that we live now in the modern State of Israel and can be Jewish freely. But we've started down a bit of a slippery path and need to avoid sliding all the way down. And here is a great piece for a bit of background on the whole issue of Haredim in Israel.
Katsman's point is an excellent one - not just because she hits the nail on the head, but because she comes at the issue from a very personal and applicable point to the current topic of religious authority and inclusion. And this of course can easily be built out to all areas of life where the question of tolerance for others is at play.
Recently, in The Times of Israel there was an excellent piece by Hannah Katsman on Tolerance. Her point is just outstanding and articulates well what I have not been able to articulate for years. It's important and nuanced and needs to be internalized. I recommend reading her whole piece. But I'll attempt to extrapolate from it here a bit.
Asking others to meet your stricter religious observance in fact is a level of intolerance. There has to be room at the table for everyone.
The problem with the protests of the WoW is that they are being told that their presence and prayer are offensive to the most religious and that we must cater to the needs of the most religious to make space for everyone at The Kotel. But that ends up ONLY making space for the most religious and not leaving room for the less religious who find spiritual meaning in other ways and forms from the most religious.
It is as if I, as a vegetarian, were to insist that at every event I went to or meal out it had to be vegetarian so I could eat everything on the table. That's imposing my minority position, which happens to be a more stringent dietary standard, on everyone. Instead there could simply be proper labeling of food and it would be my responsibility to make sure to bring a dish that I would find satisfying. Now if the other hosts want to go the extra mile and encourage others to bring vegetarian meals that is wonderful but not necessary.
It's a tricky line - especially for the Jews, I would argue - because we have been oppressed for so many years for our religious beliefs. Isn't it great that we live now in the modern State of Israel and can be Jewish freely. But we've started down a bit of a slippery path and need to avoid sliding all the way down. And here is a great piece for a bit of background on the whole issue of Haredim in Israel.
Katsman's point is an excellent one - not just because she hits the nail on the head, but because she comes at the issue from a very personal and applicable point to the current topic of religious authority and inclusion. And this of course can easily be built out to all areas of life where the question of tolerance for others is at play.
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