At a conference for ritual bath attendants, Israel’s Chief Rabbi and Sephardi Chief Rabbi, Rabbi David Yosef, addressed the High Court ruling that allows women to immerse without a bath attendant present. According to a report on Channel 12, Yosef told the attendants that they must follow the law and cannot prevent a woman from bathing alone.
He warned them that if a woman arrives and says she does not want an attendant present and they refuse to let her immerse, they could face jail. At the same time, he urged the women to openly object to the change. “You are allowed to tell her: ‘The Chief Rabbi, Rabbi David Yosef, said you are raising a hand against the Torah,’” he told the audience.
Yosef then instructed the attendants to tell the woman that she is acting against Jewish law, to shame her, and to raise their voices. “Tell her she is acting against halacha, you are raising a hand against the Torah, shame on you. Raise your voice and shout,” he said. He added that in this way they would not be breaking the law, “but you humiliated them, and make sure everyone hears.”
Ofrat Sitsmar, head of the legal department at the Atim organization, sharply criticized the remarks. She said it was “very regrettable” that Israel’s chief rabbi was encouraging public employees to violate the law from a public platform, and called it a severe violation of the religiously recognized freedom of choice of hundreds of thousands of women who regularly use ritual baths in Israel. She said this was a red line and that a complaint would be filed with the Civil Service Commission.
