Mechitza

A mechitza (Hebrew: מחיצה, partition or division, pl.: מחיצות, mechitzot) in Judaism is a partition, particularly one that is used to separate men and women.

The rationale in halakha (Jewish law) for a partition dividing men and women is derived from the Babylonian Talmud. A divider in the form of a balcony was established in the Temple in Jerusalem for the Simchat Beit HaShoeivah ceremony, a time of great celebration and festivity. The divider was first established to preserve modesty and attention during this time.

During the mid-20th century, a substantial number of modern Orthodox synagogues did not have mechitzot. However, the Orthodox Union (OU), the main body of Modern Orthodox synagogues in the United States, adopted a policy of not accepting as new members synagogues without mechitzot, and strongly encouraged existing synagogues to adopt them. Men and women are generally not separated in most Conservative synagogues, but it is a permissible option within Conservative Judaism; some Conservative synagogues, particularly in Canada, have separate seating for men and women, with or without a physical partition. Reform congregations, consistent with the movement's core value of gender equality, do not use mechitzot in their synagogues.

Although the synagogue mechitza is not mentioned anywhere in Talmudic literature, there is a discussion of a barrier between men and women, used at the Sukkot festivities in the Jerusalem Temple. The Amoraic sage Rav explains that the divider originated with a statement of the prophet Zechariah regarding the mourning following the war between Gog and Magog:

The land will mourn each of the families by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself and their wives by themselves; and all the families who remain, each of the families by itself and their wives by themselves.

Rav explained that if such a sad occasion necessitates a separation between men and women, then the Simchat Beit HaShoeivah in the Temple in Jerusalem (a very happy occasion) does as well.

Scholars have long debated the extent to which gender segregation and a mechitza between the sexes existed in synagogues during the periods of the Second Temple, the Mishnah, and the Talmud. Shmuel Safrai, through a combination of textual analysis and archaeological evidence, has argued that while women consistently attended synagogue services, there is no definitive evidence to support the existence of a partition separating the genders or the existence of a separate women's aid (Ezrat Nashim). The archaeologist Lee Levine notes that there is no evidence in the dedicatory inscriptions found in archaeological excavations regarding the existence of mechitzas, and furthermore, no structure has been found that can be interpreted as a mechitza.

The Maharam of Ruthenburg, Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg ZT"L (13th century, Germany) is reported to have had a separate women's section in his synagogue.