whatever you were smoking? Was the man you mentioned a policeman by any chance? Did you get knocked down for smoking or for getting hostile? I suspect, you are not that innocent.

My Id and My Ego are battling it out right now as to whom the kudos belongs.

The law may be an ass and I may agree with you that it is an ass, but it is the law and must be respected. I have never once in my life been delusional, I can assure you of that. I can also assure you that folks who talk to "God" are very delusional, sometimes to a degree where they are a danger to society. The problem becomes compounded when "God" talks back to them. Does Joan of Arc mean anything to you ? She had quite a few conversations with "God" and thereupon acted on his instructions. Many people died as a result, many thousands in fact.

This woman & the rest of the minority who try act provoke the orthodox jews when they start putting on a talit etc when they pray at the Kotel don't do themselves any favors. You also have a haredi minority like this bunch who go over the top in their reactions to things they see as against Halacha. Lets not brand all haredi together here. They may all like to dress the same but most act reasonably hut who cares about a haredi jew who acts like a respectable member of society? In this case the haredi acted unjustifiably because there was no attempt to provoke. At the Kotel its the women who are fault because they know what they do is provocative because they know the the rules of prayer at the Kotel are supposed to be Halachic not modernist.

statement judaism is not judaism. there is a way of doing things. this is equivalent to hareidim storming the temple ount and rebuilding the beit hamikdash. you do things when its the right time, and gradually.

not touching a woman.. clearly this charedi will use any excuse to get up close and personal with a woman.. squeezing her neck and possibly her butt... who knows. It really is like living in a modern city with cavemen walking around... Why does anyone care if a woman wears tefillin.. nuts!!!

Nice Story !! Especially if you like, Chareidi bashing !!! She is looking for sympaty !!! What a bore....

So you suggest that anyone who has a different definition of what it means to be Jewish refrain from expressing it because some extremists may feel 'provoked' to action??? Should we just sit back when extremists try to oppress those whom they hate or rather, actively resist and fight against them. NOTHING excuses their violence. No one should be forced to hide from it.

the problem will correct itself in due time. Basic biology: no contact with women, no more haredim.

Their sole purpose is to agitate and try to gain the public's attention in order to legitimize themselves here in Israel as a real entity through provocation and lawsuits -- and by PUBLICIZING (with the help of these good folk at Ynet, etc) themselves as a heroic cause that is innocently victimized. They are sharks. They are the "religious" version of the idiot woman who spilled coffee on herself and filed a lawsuit.

This woman did exactly what you are saying she should have done. She donned tfillim AT HOME and then left to catch a bus to work. The man approached and asked her about it and when she told him the truth he attacked her. There was no provocation on her part. This man and others like him are deranged! They are certainly not doing any mitzvot...on the contrary behavior like that is definitely un-Jewish.

to # 29: This woman is no Rashi's daughter. Jutzpah to compare them!!!!!! Most comments show the ignorance people have about Orthodoxy, learn before commenting.

the point i was making was if the woman had been rashi's daughter what would he have said then. i was just pointing out that rashi's daughters also wore tefillin and so would've had the marks on their arms too. would he also have said to them that women were abominations? if the woman wasn't actually wearing the tefillin in the street, what business is it of his what she does in the privacy of her own home. perhaps she is on a very high level spiritually, or perhaps she is totally misguided, in either case he should respect her. it is certainly against halacha for him to try to beat her up. not to mention what was he doing speaking to her in the first place. surely as a haredi man he shouldn't even be looking at her, much less noticing her arms!

Who wrote that if you have 10 children , it's not a big loss to loose one .[ not literally your words , but the meaning ] This after a Yeshiva student died in the desert because of lack of water . You can think that "believers" are mad , I think that they are more people who NEED something surnatural to berlieve in . They are mostly people who were "educated" so , or do it because their fathers , grandfathers did it . Religion base of violence ? only by those fanatics . There are many , if not most , non violent believing people , but sad to say we don't see nor hear them . I hope for you that you won't need the services of ZAKA , most , if not all of them , CHARIDIM .

so sorg sach nicht Charles.( jew haters = those that are happy when chareidi children die). Thankfully you are not among them, even though you are anti religion/ an atheist etc but you are a BEN ADAM, THE most important category of all. Unlike your repetitive pen pal in these columns who makes (many of ) us sick and ashamed, and worst of all, oh so bored...

Not that he attacked poor little Noa - but the fact that he thinks women are an abomination. I mean really, this man should be sectioned and put inside a mental institution, together with the other Loonies who think the same. It's a shame Noa didn't stick around to tell him that the thing who gave birth to him was a WOMAN! These woman have the right to pray wearing whatever the hell they want - wherever the hell they want! And no-one has the right to stop them.

She should have told him that he should not be looking at her arms and he should not be striking up a conversation with her I hope she reads this and learns how to handle people like this in the future. Not that I condone what she does, but the Talmud ststes that Nichal Bat Shaul the wife of David HaMelech also wore tefillin The difference between this woman and Michal I am sure is vast and before a woman goes and performs a mitzvah in which she is NOT commanded she needs to be on the level of Michal Bat Shaul (whom I am sure only donned them when she was in a state of ritual purity, among other things) Many men who don tefillin also do not have the proper state of mind and defile the tefillin by talking with them on etc. I am sure Ms. Raz means well but there are other ways of serving Hashem that are more in line with what Hashem wants of us without grabbing things which were not meant for us. Non Jews who for example observe shabbat are guilty of stealing that which was not given to them!

Did this event actually take place? I for one do not know. Did it occur as she claims? Again we don't know. So instead of jumping to conclusions, let's wait for some sort of proof. It the event did take place as she stated then the law will take care of the matter, until then this is pure speculation on our part. And there is a lot of incitement against the Haridim which may have nothing at all to do with this.

Assuming this story happened (despite the many holes in the report: Women of the Wall consider themselves Orthodox, not conservative. A man tries to strangle a woman and she makes no police report - if there is a man attacking women at this level it is her duty to report the crime immediately for this man is likely to escalate to rape and or murder. But assuming it happened...) There is no basis anywhere to call a woman a to'evah - an "abomination" - and this woman is decent enough looking that she would not elicit a new trend. Certainly, if this happened, the man said that the woman was a ta'avah - a "lust" or "pleasure" - not a to'evah, but this weird "Conservative" woman of the wall heard what she wanted to hear and repeated what she wanted to repeat.

Just curious how you can sit in a cozy chair in NYC and say some nice motzie shem ra from such a distance. Of course, I could ask the standard questions to show what a dork you are: Have you ever met a single 'woman of the wall'? (my guess is no, you haven't). Have you ever gone on rosh chodesh to the kotel and seen them yourself? My guess again is no. In fact, if you're sitting in front of your screen in NYC, what mitzva are you fulfilling by telling us that these women are "looking for every opportunity to portray themselves as victims"? My guess is you're just another Jewish armchair general sitting cosily in NYC wishing you could come to the kotel and spit on the women once a month just to fulfill your prophecy. Or maybe I'm wrong and you'll apologize for the motzie shem ra?

If we apply your logic...in all traditional historic cultures men wore robes, togas, kilst, etc., etc. It was women who first began to wear pants (chalwas) for modesty's sake ... If we follow your logic, then you and all men should stop wearing pants immediately!!!! They were not invented for you. Idiotic argument, n'est pas? Further, if someone approaches you and asks a question, as long as it's not rude or done in a rude fashion, why not answer? It is much more rude, a distinct lack of manners, if you don't answer.

there are plenty of good secular or less observant people. We have everything, the good, the bad and the ugly in all sectors.

This is hearsay BS from a clearly biased woman

I was making a general statement and not refering to this specific case. Now, you reread what I wrote.

you are doing it again- blaming women. Why is it the woman's fault? This haredi man was clearly out of line- it is not his business what this woman was doing and where- he is a nut, a religious fanatic. I agree with Sagi-and this guy is proof of it. And YOU Reuven, are you so insecure in your believe, in your emotions, that you must blame women for everything? How quaint! The strong men, the 'superior beings' wetting their pants when they see a woman? How pathetic!

to search "excuses" for your INTOLERANT # 23 . No , this # 23 was not a general view of you , it was your "normal" hate and venim that spoke . Shame on you [ but we know you already , poor guy ]

This sounds too strange. Women ARE allowed to put on tefillin, that man was NOT allowed to touch that woman, is that man's own MOTHER an abomination because she was/is a woman? It really does sound staged, but in a very poor way or the guy is out of his mind or both. Regardless, his behaviour is very UNcharedi. I personally would have intervened to protect her & I'm charedi.

Jews should not hate other Jews. The rest of the world has more than enough hate for us already. Let’s not make it worse by vilifying each other. We need to stop this ridiculous infighting. Women are allowed to wear tefillin and the “ultra-orthodox” are allowed to be upset by it. If the attack happened as written it would more likely that he did it because he was nuts than because he was religous. Now lets stick together so we can focus on real the threats to our way of life.

' haredim '. same depraved characters. While she indulged in a Pagan act?; He is the real Pagan. He belongs, with his "confreres" in a mosque, so they will feel more comfortable and allowed to freely display their depravity towards women. I strongly disagree with Avi's comment " The haredim act and behave like they are above the Law ".----- THEY are the law. It's not meant to be a compliment to cops.