COMMUNITY VIEWS

It's A Matter Of Language

the world today.
n the issue of Women of the
Jews on opposite sides of the debate
Wall ("Wall Divided," Dec.
are
speaking a different language,
8, page 6) and the question
based on concepts foreign to each
of kol isha (woman's voice), I
other. On the one hand, the
have been a baal tshuva ( a
non-Orthodox Jew's frame
previously non-observant Jew
of
reference is a sense of jus-
who becomes observant) for
tice,
freedom and equality
almost 10 years.
(principles
that are
Prior to that time, howev-
informed
by
secular, democ-
er, I was a feminist and a
ratic
ideals).
According to
proactive member of the
the non-Orthodox Jew, reli-
Conservative movement. In
gious practice should not
the latter capacity, I donned a
offend our subjective sense
"feminized" tallit and kippah.
of fairness and justice.
Blessed with a pleasant voice,
LAU REL
While emotionally
I routinely ascended the
STUAR T-FINK appealing, this is a foreign
bimah at my shul to chant
Spec ial to
concept to an Orthodox Jew
from the Torah.
the Jew ish News
whose
frame of reference is
I have long ago traded my
Torah and the all-important
kippah for a shaitel (wig worn
inquiry: What does HaShem want of
by married Orthodox women) and my
me? In answer to that question, the
tallit for the tznius (modest) dress
Orthodox
Jew looks to Torah and rab-
becoming a Jewish woman. Rather
binic
sages
for guidance.
than raising my voice in supplication
in shul, my prayer now more closely
Torah Direction
approximates that of Hannah, who,
A
Torah-observant Jewish woman
we learn in Tenach (Jewish Bible),
understands that her mission in the
prayed silently, her lips moving, but
world is dictated by the precepts of
her prayers rising from her heart, not
our holy Torah, not by the fiat on the
her vocal cords, to shomayim (heaven).
male of the species. In Judaism, there
I have never doubted that HaShem
is no war of the sexes and no need for
hears my whispered prayers as clearly
a
"feminist" movement, which has
as my public displays of prayer in shul
been
essential to the survival of
were heard.
women
in the secular world. Jewish
The sad truth is there can be no
men and women each are assigned
understanding between the Orthodox
roles by no less than the will of God
and the non-Orthodox community on
as
expressed in the Torah. While dif-
the kol isha issue, and that is not
ferent,
the roles of both men and
through the fault of either group, but
women
are essential to the survival of
rather speaks to the state of Judaism in
the Jewish people.
While I appreciate the way most
Laurel Stuart-Fink is a West Bloom-
Orthodox women never can, the sin-
field resident who attends Bais Chabad
cerity of women who wear tallism and
of West Bloomfield.
even tefillin, I cannot express the

0

depth of my dismay
that most of these
women know noth-
ing of the mitzvot
(commandment from
Torah) that have
graced the lives of
Jewish women for
thousands of years.
How many of these
women are shomer
Shabbos (Sabbath
observant) or are
observing laws of
family purity? How
many know that a
woman is obligated
to say Shema twice
daily, or that Jewish
women have an affir-
mative obligation to
pray daily — no, not
as part of a minyan,
but in their own
homes?
The power of a
Jewish woman to
increase kedusha
(holiness) in herself,
her family and thus
throughout the Jew-
ish world is a mag-
nificent thing to contemplate. Think
of our matriarch Sarah with the shechi-
nah (God's presence) hovering over
her tent, drawn there by the powerful
spirituality of this quiet, modest
woman. That is the role model for the
Jewish woman.
It is not, and never has been,
about competing with me. It is
about discovering the significant role
of the Jewish woman as taught
through Torah. It is greater than any
one of us, and our subjective ideas,

‘Q,

m Wall came
reme Cotrtli

about what is fair.
Finally, while we may not under-
stand each other, we must remember
each Jew has a mitzvah to love each
other and every other Jew It is not
proper to denegrate each other,
whether by accusing the Women of
the Wall of deliberately interfering
with men davening (praying) or accus-
ing Orthodox men of "eavesdropping"
on the women davening on the other
die of the mechitzah. Such vitriol
diminishes all of us as a people. ❑

LETTERS

Lack Of Peace
Affects Leadership

Ehud Barak's decision to resign as
prime minister of Israel ("Rebuilding
A Government," Dec. 15, page 35)
can be ascribed primarily to a break-
down in the peace process and to a
lack of confidence in his leadership by
the Knesset. Some observations on the
failed peace process follow.
First, the Palestinian uprising,
fueled by a hatred of Jews, casts doubt

12/29
2000

32

on the value of any peace agreement
reached with the Palestinian Authori-
ty. As long as such hatred persists, an
enduring peace is unlikely.
Second, Barak, though demonstrat-
ing vision and courage in pursuit of
peace with the PA, has shown a lack
of wisdom in failing to recognize that
Chairman Yasser Arafat is not a "part-
ner for peace." A "partner for peace"
would have taken steps to change
Palestinian education to promote
peace and coexistence, not violence
and intolerance.

Third, the Peace Now
Now movement to have a
movement seems to believe
similar awakening?
that peace with the Arabs is
Fourth, in a climate of
possible without seriously
distrust, issues such as
addressing the issue of Arab
defensible borders,
hatred for Jews. In the 1930s,
Jerusalem sovereignty, Pales-
assimilated German Jewry
tinian refugees and water
believed that Adolf Hitler's
accessibility represent insol-
hatred for Jews would have
uble problems. In a climate
Ehud Barak
no lasting impact on their
of trust, these need not be
lives. That view changed after
insoluble. To achieve such a
Kristallnacht ,(NighT of Broken Glass)
climate, it is necessary to address the
in November 1938. What would it
issue of Palestinian hatred for Jews.
take, one may wonder, for the Peace
And yet the Peace Now movement, by

