Jewish Scene
Supreme Court says women allowed to eulogize
Koby Nahshoni
Published: 18.04.07, 00:12
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20 Talkbacks for this article
1. crazy
gabriela ben ari ,   jerusalem   (04.18.07)
I hope Rabbi Soloman pays for the pain he inflicted
2. know when to be strict
mordechai ,   jerusalem   (04.18.07)
At a time when relgion was supposed to be a source of comfort, it was misused as a source of pain. May Ms. Luvith receive comfort among the mourners of Zion.,
3. Why such fear of women? Islam, Rabbis, Why?
4. As a religious Jew, I never heard anything like this BS
Frum Yid ,   Israel   (04.18.07)
I was NEVER at a funeral- including religious ones, where an opinion like Rabbi Shimon Solomon's. EVERY funeral that I ever attended permitted women to eulogize.
5. Women's Rights
Rick S. ,   L.A.   (04.18.07)
Is there a difference between the Taliban & the Haredim in the way they mistreat women? They are both very similar in their fanaticism.
6. Women 1 - Rabbi 0
Talula ,   Israel   (04.18.07)
How sad that something like this had to go to court in the first place. It's a woman's fundamental right to speak at a grave of a loved one. Seems that everyday rabbis strive to new heights of hatefulness. Well, NOT TODAY!!! HA HA HA HA !
7. i've been to 30-40 religious funerals and
ora levi   (04.18.07)
NEVER have i've seen anything as idiotic as this. Just after the last lebanon war i've been to 4 funerals of religious soldiers-settlers where not only did the wife eulogized-but the sister and even a girlfriend in 1case did. I m all for halaha-but this is obsurd ruling!
8. #5 The difference: the Haredin don't kill their women
9. Our Anti-Jewish Supreme Court
Reuven Brauner ,   Raanana, Israel   (04.18.07)
"Supreme Court says women allowed to eulogize" In no country in the world, but here, would a court interfere in religious freedom. One can only speculate that our court is motivated by an anti-Torah, anti-religious, anti-rabbinical agenda aimed at undermining the true Jewish nature of the State of Israel.
10. reuben #12 narrow-mindedness
anne ,   israel   (04.18.07)
Perhaps there would be less anti if these rabbis stopped treating women as "tameh". Why shouldn't women be allowed to eulogize. Who is this rabbi to forbid anything? Thank goodness for our courts to set you primitive men straight.
11. To Ms. Anne, Number 10
Reuven Brauner ,   Raanana, Israel   (04.18.07)
I am glad that you set me straight about women. Oh, by the way, in case you were having an off-moment, I was number "9".
12. Haredim don't follow torah
Sephardic-Male ,   Toronto, Canada   (04.18.07)
Reveun claim that this court is anti-torah. where in the torah it say the sexes should be separated, where in the torah it says one must follow kol isha and other aburd sexist anti-female crap?
13. #10 reuben
anne ,   netanya   (04.18.07)
Forget the sarcasm. Answer me honestly. What is anti-Jewish about a woman wanting to eulogize someone she loves? Why would a Jewish woman not be allowed in cemetaries by certain religious groups? Do you not see the unfairness of this? This is why women like me have a hard time with the Jewish religion.
14. what does the deceased want?
Jewish ,   jewish   (04.18.07)
Does he want his daughter to euligize him in the "olam Haemet"? He does not! More desecration of the torah will only be more painful for the deceased Neshama.
15. # 14 Please explain yourself
liz   (04.19.07)
How is eulogizing a loved one end up being desecration of the torah? Please tell us where it is written in the torah that women must not speak at a graveside..... PS in my excitement to react to this stupid talkback i accidentally clicked recommend - please ignore it everyone number 14 is definitely not recommended. The issue here is not halacha, but custom... it is "not done", not forbidden by law - just by rabbis... Liz (whose family made history nearly thirty years ago in Manchester, England when the women mourners (there were no men) created facts on the ground by going to the cemetery to attend my grandfather's funeral - becuase it wasnt "done" there - and WE were the first to take the shovels and shovel earth onto the grave ---
16. 10 and 13 - To Anne
Reuven Brauner ,   Raanana, Israel   (04.19.07)
Dear Anne, I suspect that the issue here may be an objection based on the Laws of Modesty which would consider it inappropriate for a woman to address a group of men, even at a funeral. I am not entirely certain as to why women have been told not to go to the cemetery (maybe for Kabbalistic reasons?) but it could be simply that since some women get overly distraught and emotional at the grave and when viewing the burial and that it could be injurious to them to attend, it would be preferable if they did not come. Some women throw themselves at the grave, wailing and screaming.
17. #9 Mr Brauner and the Supreme Court
Michael ,   Haifa   (04.19.07)
Knowing Mr, Brauner's mind set, it does not surprise me that he spews out rubbish about "religious freedom". Religions are not concerned with freedoms. The very word "religion" stems from the Latin word "ligio" (tying down) Religion coercively tells people what to do and not do, as the Rabbis see fit. In this case even the Chief Rabbi, in an appeal status, would not over rule a local "sage". The Israeli courts deal with religious coercion, not religious freedom. They deal with human freedoms in accordance with the law and protect individuals' basic rights and freedoms.
bill handel ,   brooklyn, usa   (04.19.07)
He's in another world now, much closer to G-D. He knows the truth. If he could speak he would say: "Don't desecrate my funeral by mixing men and women. Here, in heavan, they demand strict morality, and I will suffer if my funeral violates these rules.So stop being selfish and--out of consideration for the deceased--maintain the traditional Jewish code of morality and separation of the sexes.
19. separation
charles ,   petach tikva   (04.19.07)
If this ruling from the high court is against Judaism , tora and so on , tell me Reuven Brauner , why in other places in Israel women can attend ? Regarding separation , in Antwerp , Belgium , women were not admitted to the cemeteries [ Orthodox ones located in Holland ]
20. Knowledge vs. ignorance
Halachic Man ,   New York   (04.20.07)
It is a shame that too many people couch their bigotry in the language of religious stricture. Does no less than the mishna discuss woman being brought to funernals and even at times being hired as criers to set the proper tone of mourning. Having a loved one deliver a moving eulogy in honor of her deceased would certainly be following in line with this ancient custom.
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