Thursday, March 10, 2005

Now we've done women's Aliyot, on to Women's Tefilla Groups

For all those Bloghead readers who are clearly itching to write about WTGs, here's your thread. Out of Step Jew -- who on most issues seems to be very much in step with at least one other Jew, me -- has announced the grand opening of his local Women's Tefillah Group, in Kfar Saba. Please follow his links, and read this too; he explains his reasons for supporting women's tefillah groups very clearly.
It is so refreshing to hear an Orthodox male voice in the Jewish blogosphere taking up what is traditionally, and wrongly, regarded as a 'female' issue. It is similarly refreshing to hear a male voice that doesn't treat this issue as some dry halachic exercise, as I'm afraid the men in the thread below did, but who understands this involves real human beings with genuine needs, emotions and intentions, and shows some sympathy (something you can do even if you disagree with these women, incidentally -- and something which seemed sorely lacking from the rather condescending and brusque men in the Bloghead thread). Most of all, it is refreshing to hear a man who understands these women are not the enemies, but your wives, sisters, daughters and neighbors, whose spiritual welfare should be your concern as well. Thank you, OOSJ.