Mechitzah (separation between the sexes)

Judaism loves categories and celebrates them every way – night and day, milk and meat, Sabbath versus holidays and ordinary days – and gender is no exception...

The common assumption is that spirituality and sensuality are mutually exclusive. Who says? Sensuality is not something we are meant to kill. It lies at the core of human spirituality--even of...

Why do men and women sit separately at traditional Jewish services?

The Mechitzah is a divider separating the men's and women's sections of the synagogue. The fundamental principle of prayer is to establish a relationship between one's self and G-d. The social dimension and distraction which sometimes accompanies mixed ...

Question: Recently I attended a Chassidic wedding in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. My question is, why are men and women separated by a partition? Answer: It must have been quite an experience for you to attend a Chassidic wedding! The reason for the ...

The synagogues and study halls in the Diaspora are considered “miniature sanctuaries.” For this reason, we find that some of the physical characteristics of the Holy Temple are to be incorporated in the building of a synagogue...

"It is a mistake to think that the Mechitzah is degrading to the honor or dignity of the Jewish woman..."

Alone in New York City, she had heard that on this night there would be dancing here, and she’d looked forward to it all week. She couldn’t wait to dance, and she hoped to find a community that would embrace her.

After years of decline, a New England synagogue turns to a young rabbi and his wife to get the historic congregation back on its feet.