The plan to build a new plaza at the Kotel to accommodate ceremonies and worship that do not conform with Jewish Law is emblematic of The State of Israel's on-going and seemingly endless identity crisis.
The problem lies in where the balance between Jewish and Democratic values. When the State looks at the Kotel, Cave of the Patriarchs, Rachel's Tomb etc... does it see a historic site or a religious/holy site?
As a historic site the Kotel should be available to all humanity and especially to all Jewry. However, as a religious site, a place for prayer for hundreds of years. The place to where Jewish Law mandates Jews face when at prayer it should comport with the requirements of Jewish law. Who should be tasked with setting Jewish Law observance standards within the State of Israel? One would believe authority and administration would be coordinated under the Authority of the Chief Rabbinate. Yet this new prayer area is under the Prime Minister's office.
How then does this new area promote the interests of the non-Orthodox ? Those who so deeply long for gender mixed prayer at the Kotel believe the Temple is a memory, an anachronism,
best consigned to History. Further, these groups are dubious regarding notions such as Mashiach, Messiah, in gathering of exiles and building the Third Temple. Therefore, the desire for access to the place is rooted someplace deeper in Jewish psyche than logic.
That elusive beyond logic need to connect to the Kotel belies how fundamental and complex this issue is. An additional consideration is that connecting remains important. That in spite of strident denial and defiance of Jewish Law ancestral values remains even if actively suppressed.
Leading a double life reduces life's narrow bridge to a mere hairs' breath all but ensures a fall.
It is time to be true to one's self and stand with a timeless G-D connected people.
