Yes, Let Them Have The Kotel- If We Can Have Har Habayit!!
And for once I'll make it clear in Hebrew, too:
תנו להם הכותל אם תנו לנו את הר הבית!!!
I think that pretty much everyone in the Jewish World has heard, at least those concerned with religion has heard the news:
Cabinet approves 'historic' decision to create Western Wall egalitarian prayer space
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| Women of the Wall members put on tefillin and pray during their monthly prayer at the beginning of a new Jewish month, at the Western Wall compound in Jerusalem, Israel, 08 July 2013. EPA/Abir Sultan |
This is a victory for the women who have been showing up, all of once a month, harassing and interfering with the prayers of others who are there every single day of year. Those who pray at the Kotel (Western Wall) full time, and don't need the spiritual inspiration of tv cameras and newspaper photographers, may still find the WOW ladies and their "minyan" around on Rosh Chodesh (beginning of the Jewish Month,) because that group isn't happy with the government's offer to get their "own Kotel" at the southern end of that wall, where all the various non-halachik groups can doven however they wish. They want the "kotel proper," just like they want to pray like men, wearing a Tallit and reading from a Torah Scroll.
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And to be honest, I think that the Kotel is overrated. It isn't really all that holy, and it's not directly connected to the Holy Temple, Beit Hamikdash. It's the outer wall of the compound, built relatively recently, and until a few hundred years ago, it wasn't a place of worship. Har Habayit was the favored place of worship. And it's not all that difficult to figure out where it's permitted to step on Har Habayit, which actually very large.
So, if those who don't follow Jewish tradition can be allowed to have public prayer at the Kotel, I have no doubt that it is the time for us to be permitted full religious and civil rights to have Jewish Prayer on the holiest place in the world, Har Habayit!!
