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Thursday, August 4, 2011

Mechitzah - a Modern Invention?

Walking into any Orthodox Shul today, you will encounter a mechitzah, a partition running between the men and ladies section of the Shul. Others have a separate balcony for the ladies. One may wonder why is the mechitzah never mentioned in Shulchan Aruch or other earlier seforim? Why was this only recently discussed, and with such passion, by the great Rabbis of a more modern Europe?
The answer is simple: up until modern times, the style of the Shul was completely different. Women that wished to come and daven would sit in a completely separate room and would only hear the sounds of the davening by way of small windows.
שו"ת ציץ אליעזר ח"ז סי' ח
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1 comment:

  1. what about the Ezras Nashim in the Mikdash? is not an idea of separate seating?

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