Rabbi Avi Shafran of Agudath Israel, in his letter (Dec. 18), seems to be living in a man’s world with his head buried in the sand. Maybe a woman reading from the Torah while praying with the Women of the Wall on Rosh Chodesh Kislev violates his sensibilities, but he certainly not have the right to speak for the “majority of the Kotel’s regular visitors.”
As for causing anguish to their fellow Jews, what about the anguish these women were put through, and have continued to be put through for many years? The Kotel is a holy place where all Jews have the right to pray.
At a time when so many Jews are assimilating and intermarrying, Jews across America stand proudly with the sisters in Israel who seek to fulfill their spiritual yearnings at the Kotel, and endeavor to normalize the wearing of the tallit for women and to raise their voices in prayer at the Kotel. It would be good to remember that Chanukah, the Festival of Freedom we just celebrated, means freedom for all Jews, even women.
North Bellmore, L.I.
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