Sunday, September 18, 2005

Mechitza which is good enough for tephila is not good enough for dancing

Out of Step Jew: After the usual yawner of a meeting a young girl of about 20, the daughter of a member, stood up and had two requests: The first riled one side of the ideological divide, the second the other. She requested that during the dvar Torah before the reading of the Torah, the curtain be moved so that eye contact can be made with the speaker in order to be able to concentrate (most men were thinking but not saying that they would pay good money in order not to be able to make eye contact with the speaker so that they could catch a few winks). The second request was that on Simchat Torah (the most divisive holiday on the Jewish calendar) a heavy piece of material be placed over the mechitza so that the men will not be able to glimpse the dancing girls and women.