[Avodah] Tzeni'us and gender roles

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

R' Meir Shinnar wrote:
> The driving impetus behind the Young Israel movement (which
> started as the prototype participatory minyan - as distinct
> from a hazzan led shul) - was not that everyone would duchen,
> or even just that everyone would rotate davening musaf on yom
> kippur before the amud. The issue is that doing something -
> whether it is merely pticha, or an aliya, or davening before
> the amud - increases one sense of avodat hashem and of
> belonging to the minyan. The level of participation clearly
> varies - but there is some participation.

My apologies to anyonewho thinks this is off-topic, but I'm very curious:

Prior to Young Israel, was the level of participation really that low? Who opened the aron? And who got an aliyah? Are you saying that even these honors were restricted to some elite group even on a very ordinary Shabbos?

Akiva Miller

____________________________________________________________
Click now to find great remedies for hangovers!
http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2131/fc/BLSrjnsJQcQb3Rb2HzA37GFIY38Rxh53LzuexpTx76cDtXv10KIwLvMbVcc/