Shana tova,

Baruch

PS I am suprised that so one mentioned this earlier it is not a recent book but it relents to the topic at hand.

The whole idea of “I want to connect to Hashem in this way” attitude is not a Torah one. Hashem is the one who decrees how we should serve Him. One could argue that putting the human mind and personality as the dominant force in the relationship is self-worship, not Avodas H’. This is not to say that there are never any innovations in the service of G-d, but rather that these innovations must come from Gedolim whose whole personality IS Torah and not from an egalitarian ideology steeped in western assumptions about gender roles and equality.

In response to Comment 2. I agree, Ralphie, that these new minyanim with mehitza AND women reading Torah, singing Kol Nidre (!!), pesukey dzimra,kabbalat Shabbat are very problematic. Professor Eliav Shochetman has written a cogent analysis in Hebrew showing that these minyanim have no halakhic validity. You can contact him at mshochet@mscc.huji.ac.il (or I could send you a copy of his kuntres against aliyat Torah L’nashim.)

There’s no question that it’s a real issue. It very much goes against the grain of secular society and Islam’s treatment of women gives Judaism’s a very bad name as well to the unlearned.
To state that it’s a man’s problem that he’ll look at a woman also doesn’t go over very well because the response is always something along the lines of, “Well, why should women suffer and be denied just because men have issues?!!”
The truth is that just as the man has issues, the women do too [in their own way].
It’s somewhat helpful to point out that the mechitzah is not the only example of a barrier against unwanted disturbances. I’ll give you a few more.
In order to achieve maximum concentration, a host of laws exist designed to ensure that no distractions are present. Examples of this are:
· One is not allowed to pray while holding a sharp implement, a child, or a money bag for fear that he will be distracted by them.
· One is supposed to pray in a set place so that the unfamiliar area does not present new and interesting distractions.
· One may not pray in an area that has a foul odor because it disturbs his concentration [among other reasons].
· One must not speak unnecessarily during prayer
· One may not pass before someone engaged in the Sh’moneh Esrei, lest he disturb his concentration.

There is also a problem of elevating synagogue attendance to the absurdly high level it has been raised to in Judaism. It is not one of the 613 Mitzvos D’Orayso. It is a D’rabbanan and not nearly on par with many other issues. Thus, the fuss is usually far less about denying women the chance to be close to G-d [most women who have this issue do not use the mikvah, or insist on eating kosher, or refrain from driving on shabbos etc.] It is more about the feminist drive to be exactly like men [in all areas that benefit them].