History of Feminism

Dozens of women joined in prayer Monday at Jerusalem’s Western Wall and took part in a first-of-its-kind reading of Torah portions from a full-sized scroll in the women’s section, a practice which is officially banned by the rabbinic authority at the site.


The women were handed a Torah scroll by supporters of their cause in the men’s section, even as other worshipers at the site attempted to block the transfer. Security forces detained one of the men who passed the scroll to the women’s section, and likewise prevented male worshipers from entering the women’s section to disrupt the Torah reading.


In April 2013, an Israeli court ruling formally acknowledged women’s right to pray according to their beliefs at the Western Wall, claiming that this does not violate “local custom,” which hitherto had been cited as the foundation of banning some prayer rites women wished to engage in as a group. However, the rabbinic authority at the site nevertheless dictates that Torah scrolls must not enter the women’s section, citing concerns of possible theft.

There are over 100 Torah scrolls designated for public use at the Western Wall.

The Women of the Wall organization, which meets at the Western Wall once a month for prayers, has in the past manged to smuggle a miniature Torah scroll into the site. The feminist group advocates greater equality for women to engage in ritual observances at the Western Wall, including permission to read from and dance

http://www.timesofisrael.com/in-first-women-of-the-wall-pray-with-full-sized-torah-scroll/