A PERMEABLE WALL

Jerusalem

When I first saw the Western Wall in Jerusalem , I was surprised to see that there was another smaller wall, a wooden separation, which divided men and women in two sectors. Later, I discovered that the short wall called Mechitza , still in use in a few Orthodox Sinagogues , was extremely permeable. Even if it remains a physical and a spiritual presence, curiosity, the attitude of Jews to balance between modernism and traditionalism and the wish to share important moments and celebrations like the Bar and Bat mitzvah, that wall becomes daily a sort of invisible barrier. Forgetting all the strict rules, for many faithful it turns into a lively window with a great open view for both sectors.