The 15 of Av has been declared International Tefillin Day, inviting Jewish men to congregate in open spaces and conduct the morning prayer with tefillin, which are provided for those without.
In Tel Aviv, Tefillin Day was scheduled for Wednesday morning at the plaza in front of the National Theater, Habima. Reuven Lediansky, leader of the “Green Seculars” faction in the Tel Aviv City Council, appealed to Mayor Ron Huldai to cancel the event, because it is held in a gender-segregated manner and the entertainment portion of the event did not include a female singer.
Lediansky has a long tradition of efforts to thwart events of religious Tel Aviv residents, especially events that generate communication and understanding between religious and secular Jews.
The event took place despite the objections, but a few women in the traditional red T-shirts of The Women’s Struggle group inserted themselves into the rows of men and insisted on staying there despite the obvious discomfort they caused the men. As you can see in the video, one woman insisted on standing surrounded by the men despite appeals from several police officers. She argued that she wasn’t hurting anyone, just standing, what do you want from me?
It reminded me of the old trick whereby an older sibling grabs his younger sibling’s hand and slaps the poor child with it, repeating the hilarious phrase: “It’s not me, it’s you, stop hitting yourself.”
Did any of the male readers ever get the urge to crash a women’s event? I didn’t think so.
