Alex Schwartz
Age: 13
Grade: 8th
Program: Rosh Hodesh: It’s a Girl Thing! at Temple Sinai in Stamford, CT.
Her slogan:
Eq-wall-ity
Alex makes the case for gender equality at the Wall:
Being in a Reform congregation, I had taken for granted my opportunity to pray with my brother and my father and to become a bat mitzvah. However, at a holy site having such meaning for all Jews, I find it really hard to believe that women are excluded. As this old proverb from India says, “Women hold up half the sky.” Praying alongside each other should not be a threat, on the contrary, it enhances Judaism.