JERUSALEM — Ahead of Pope Benedict XVI's May visit to Israel, the rabbi of the Western Wall, Shmuel Rabinovitch, has said that it is not proper to come to the site wearing a cross.
The pope wears a cross in all public appearances and is slated to visit the Western Wall on May 12 after a meeting with Muslim religious leaders at the Dome of the Rock.
Rabbi Asks Pope Not to Wear Cross at Kottel
JERUSALEM — Ahead of Pope Benedict XVI’s May visit to Israel, the rabbi of the Western Wall, Shmuel Rabinovitch, has said that it is not proper to come to the site wearing a cross.
The pope wears a cross in all public appearances and is slated to visit the Western Wall on May 12 after a meeting with Muslim religious leaders at the Dome of the Rock.
After the visit, which will include a meeting with Rabinovitch, the pope is slated to meet with Israel’s two chief rabbis, Yona Metzger and Shlomo Amar.
“My position is that it is not fitting to enter the Western Wall area with religious symbols, including a cross,” said Rabinovitch in a telephone interview with The Jerusalem Post Monday. “I feel the same way about a Jew putting on a tallit and phylacteries and going into a church.”
Rabinovitch is responsible for religious decorum at the site.
“In coming days I intend to discuss the issue with the pope’s people,” Wadie Abunassar, media coordinator for the pope’s visit to the Holy Land, said in response to reports that the pontiff would not remove his cross. “I cannot imagine the Holy Father removing his cross.”
On a historic visit to the Holy Land in 2000, Pope John Paul II prayed at the Western Wall, stuffing a written prayer between the cracks. Pictures from the visit clearly show him wearing a golden cross while praying.
Despite this precedent, Rabinovitch maintains his position against the display of religious symbols. In recent years there have been at least two incidents in which Rabinovitch has barred access to the Western Wall by Christian clergy wearing crosses.
In November 2007, he refused to allow a group of Austrian bishops led by the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Schonborn, access to the site after the clergymen refused to remove or hide their crosses.
At the time Rabinovitch told the Post that “crosses are a symbol that hurt Jewish feelings.”
In May 2008, a group of Irish prelates from both Catholic and Protestant churches were prevented from visiting the Western Wall for the same reason.
Rabinovitch also opposes security arrangements that would prevent worshipers from reaching the Kotel for several hours before and during the pope’s visit.
“Police and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) authorities met with me and presented certain demands for security during the visit that include closing the Western Wall to people who want to pray,” said Rabinovitch.
“For the past 42 years, no one has ever been prevented from praying at the Western Wall and, God willing, no one ever will. A solution needs to be reached that provides adequate security for the pope without infringing on the right of everyone to pray. The Western Wall belongs to everyone.”
A senior Catholic church official said in response that the security arrangements for the pope were an internal Israeli affair that had nothing to do with the Church.
Before 1967, when the Western Wall was under Jordanian rule, Jews were forbidden to pray there. In the Six Day War, Israel conquered east Jerusalem, including the Western Wall, from Jordan and prayer was opened to all religions.
Milhouse
R Rabinovich is right. If it were in our power the Avi Avos should not be allowed to pray there at all, since he will pray to his god and not to Hashem; but there’s nothing that can be done about that. What can be done is to keep it open while he’s there – just as it has been for every other visitor, including his predecessor; and that he be asked to tuck his tzelem in under his clothes. Huamad tzelem bahechal is a terrible thing, that we fast for.
I have every respect for Benedict 16 as an individual; he’s a decent person, a philosemite, and all good things. But the office he holds is known among Jews as Avi Avos Hatum’ah, he represents an Avodah Zarah, and there’s nothing that can be done about that. There’s no reason not to tell him this, either; he’s an intellectual and understands all this himself, and would surely not take it personally. There’s no need to be chachagovim be’eneinu.
Right on!
B“H
It’s right there in Birkat Hamazon:
Harachaman hu yishbor ol golus ma’al tzureinu v’hu yoylichenu koym’meeus l’artzeinu. (Forgive poor transliteration!):
May the Merciful One break the yoke of exile [part of our ”yoke of exile,“ rachmana litzlan, is allowing previous galachim to still display their tzelems from their necks at our holy place] from our neck and may He lead us upright [that is, unapologetic for being Yidden!] to our land!
(The above teaching paraphrases an idea I read in a very inspiring essay, ”Who Is A Jew,” from a few years back, by Rabbi Manis Friedman.)
Say it out loud,
Hashem echad, and we’re proud!
Yasher koach, Rabbi Rabinovitch!
He-s no friend
Why are the chief rabbis meeting with the head of this murderous, thieving idolatrous religion? They were responsible for many deaths of Jews and forced conversions of children during world war II and they still have artifacts from the Bais Hamikdosh. All they are interested in is, chas v’chalilah, taking Yerushalayim away from the Jewish people and making it an “international” city.
Este
What a delight to see such stength and clarity coming from Rabbi Rabinovitch, I hope this serves the pope as a deterrant to not even come to out helicke kotel. The Catholic church is so symbolic of the tremendous suffering endured by our people at their hands. I just hope that the leftist polititians in Israel don’t intervee with what R Rabinovitch is doing
Boruch N. Hoffinger
BS”D
Touchy subject.
To my under educated mind I would prefer
‘darchei Shal-m.’
Ask him politely to, at least, hide his
Tzelem. If he-they don’t want to comply don’t
start a fight.
Look, next time a misguided rabbi goes to
the Vatican and kisses the Pope’s ring see if
he’s willing to wear his Tefillin. Then the
Vatican can’t complain.
Besides my antipathy to The Pope’s religion,
their scholarship is very bad. They misquote and
alter sentences and phrases. Such scholarship wouldn’t
get you into Harvard.
95% of their followers are probably very ignorant
of all this. This is TRULY ‘blind faith.’
If the Pope doesn’t comply it’s just further
proof that he’s not a peace loving individual and
wants to shove his ‘religion’ down your throat. He doesn’t think you’re thinking individuals. He wants to trap uneducated Jews (Plenty) and get their poor souls. He’s happy with small stuff. He can’t tackle the big.
So, this is a threat?
Great Chance! When the Pope leaves, after wearing
his tzelum, let everybody present and watching say
Aleinu with all appurtenances (Drink some milk first.).
Torah upheld
To Boruch N. Hoffinger – I don’t really get your comment.
Anyway, R’ Rabinovich is doing the right thing, on all accounts, he is coming from a Torah perspective, and holding strongly to it. I really hope it works out accordingly. Glad to have such a strong person in charge of this, I give him my full support, and wish him much hatzlacha.
A Female
A BIG Yasher Koach Rabbi Rabinovitch!! I was @ the Kosel Friday night Davening -I turned around & saw 3 Galochim standing there I was so disgusted!! There should be some kind of law about No Goyim @ the kosel atleast on Shabbos!
Way to go
Way to go rabbi r
IMO
R Rabinovich is 100% WRONG if the Pope was invited.
If he was invited he should not be requested to remove the cross. If the wall is public property and he wants to visit then again he should not be requested to remove anything.
Showing the world that Jews respect his freedom to pray however he wants would be good PR.
Of course the opposite would show the world how intolerant we are.
Shulamit
I don’t think that the Pope should be required to remove his cross at the Kosel. Surely, doing so would be a sign of respect for the wishes of the Rabbi, but doing so should not be a precondition for praying there. Gentiles are also Hashem’s people. They are not the same as Jews, and they do not worship as Jews. To us, their religion is very problematic, but for them, it gives meaning and structure to daily life. Nowadays, conversions are not forced by the Catholic Church and they profess that people of all faiths can achieve salvation. The deeds of the past are in the past. Jews and Christians alike should embrace each other at the Kosel and beyond.
Careful!
To Shulamit: You are very, very mistaken.
While it is true that it is very important to keep the peace between us and our gentile neighbors, it does not mean that we should in any way compromise our Torah.
No, Jews and Christians should not “embrace each other”, rather, we should treat each other with respect, so long as it stays within the confines of our Torah. Other than that, we should stay as far away as possible.
You are suggesting what the Greeks suggested in the time of the story of Chanukah, and what the Prophets of the Ba’al suggested in the time of Eliyahu Hanavi. In both cases it started off with “let’s be friends and embrace each others ways” and you already know how it ended.
I do not want to put down the Pope or the Vatican, as they are clearly trying to be respectable toward the Jews. They just recently expelled a Bishop for denying the holocaust.
Shulamit, I think you need to take a more conservative approach, as I suspect liberalism on your mind. Don’t kid yourself, we can only achieve true peace by standing steadfast to the Torah.
I don’t think anyone here should comment either for or against the statement of Rabbi Rabinovitch until you actually know what the Halacha is.
mt
to IMO:
i dont think ur comment is very right, he was invited, ok. but if lets say to your shabbos table (which is not like the kosel that is in a holy land holy place) comes a non jew that u invited and he is wearing a tzelem, wouldnyt you ask himm to remove it or at least to hide it in the face of hashem? its a disgrace!
GO RABBI R! u did the right thing in my opinion
He is wrong
Black hats and beards and a tallit and phylacteries are religious symbols. Why not remove those also?
“crosses are a symbol that hurt Jewish feelings.”
Being a Jew and demeaning symbols of other great religions in front of the world hurt my feelings.
The Rabbi is wrong on this absurd request.
Rochel
I have seen plenty of xtians at the kosel with crosses on, and no one stopped them. I saw them reading from their bible and no one stopped that either. We should give him no special treatment. ask him not to wear it, and leave it at that. ALSO i think Rabbi R is doing the BEST THING BY not compying with not letting JEWS go and pray there 3 hours before the pope comes. Thats ABSOULTELY rediculous that they would even request that. THAT IS OUR MAKOM HAKODESH and no one ESPECIALLY the leader of a corrupt religion that has shed so much Jewish blood over the years.
esther
to IMO and shulamit
the kosel is NOT a public wall. It is OUR wall. I’ll repeat – OUR wall.
And, yes we should demand that nobody come and insult the one and only king of the universe by wearing a symbol that denies Him.
People like you are dangerous
You are only being a coward. Stand up for what’s right, even if it’s hard, THEN you will earn the respect, not the other way around
mendy
I think the rabbi should vit the vsdachin (basment)wink wink
rb
we went in a taxi and the guy had a cross hanging from his mirror and we didn’t feel right with it there so we asked him to take it off and he did. how much more so with HaShem! of course He won’t appreciate a cross being worn by one praying to Him! It’s an oxymoron-ish thing if a guy wearing a cross prays at the Western wall. chose, buddy!
VU SHTAIT
Where does it say this in halocha? The christian right are sometimes the first to advicate not giving up land, so lets not dis them when unnecessary. Be frum on your own cheshbon.
Milhouse
Good grief.
“IMO”: We ARE intolerant of avodah zarah. We must not tolerate or condone it in any fashion. If we had the power, we would stamp it out throughout the world. We don’t have that power in the world, but at the kotel we do, and it is unthinkable to allow a cross to be openly displayed there! One of the five reasons we fast on 17 Tammuz is because Huamad Tzelem Bahechal, and now you want to allow it for the sake of PR?
Shulamit, first of all gentiles are NOT Hashem’s people. Second, they are welcome to come to the kosel and pray to Hashem, but not to Jesus. Ki veisi veis tefiloh yikorei lechol ho’amim. And amim har yikro’u. But not to worhship their god, ch“v. It doesn’t matter whether they force conversions or it gives them structure or anything else. AZ is not wrong because it has some bad effect; it’s inherently wrong. We don’t object to it in order to prevent some other evil; it IS the evil we are trying to prevent. If the Roman Church had 2000 years of uninterrupted good relations with us, and not a single instance of persecution, our objection to them would be the same: they are idolaters, and we are committed ”lehaavir gilulim min ho’oretz”.
Milhouse
“VU SHTAIT”. First of all, shtait in chumash: Shaketz teshaktzenu vesa’ev tesa’avenu ki cherem hu.
Second, if you’re concerned about buttering up the philosemitic Christian right, then you should davka diss the Pope! He’s the Whore of Babylon, after all. Why would you go giving kovod to him and expect them to appreciate it?
Milhouse
Mr “He is wrong” wrote: “Being a Jew and demeaning symbols of other great religions in front of the world hurt my feelings.”
Then your feelings are not Jewish, and you must work to correct them. There is only one “great religion” – ours. All other religions are false and should not exist. Idolatrous religions in particular must be stamped out whenever we have the power to do so. That is what it means to be a Jew. We do not under any circumstances give honour to avodah zarah; that is the worst crime a person can do, worse than murder. Our ancestors allowed themselves to be killed rather than bow to the Christian god, and now you want to respect it as a “great religion”?
We can have good relations with Christians as individuals, but we can have no truck with their religion, and especially not with the Catholic and Orthodox sects, which are certainly avodah zara.