Mechitza magic: now you see it, now you don't

This post discusses some of Rabbi Darren Kleinberg's (Yeshivat Chovevei Torah class of 2005) views about mechitza. Foremostly, I wish to stress that his shul (Kidma) DOES have a mechitza. However, I make no assertions as to its usage or kashrus. You can see Kidma's mechitza in action at "YCT Alumnus Brings Open Orthodoxy to the Southwest" (YCT Fall 2006 newsletter, p.7).

Rabbi Kleinberg wrote an op-ed titled "Getting pluralism back on track" (8/11/2006). Here's an excerpt that implies that it's acceptable for a Jew to partake in a co-ed prayer gathering without a mechitza and without other non-negotiable Orthodox considerations:

For Jews from different segments of the community to gain a deeper understanding and therefore a deeper respect for one another, they must engage in a process of exposure to one another's experience as Jews. That includes crossing the thresholds of other denominations' houses of worship, not only for a celebration but also to pray together.

I addressed Rabbi Kleinberg’s assertions in a Letter to the Editor (8/25/2006):

Kleinberg states that we must cross "the thresholds of other denominations' houses of worship, not only for a celebration but also to pray together." However, it is against Halacha for an Orthodox Jew to pray in a synagogue with a woman cantor and without a mechitza (a divider between men and women).

For clarification of the mechitza issue, I had a brief email dialogue with Rabbi Kleinberg on 8/18/2006…

My letter to Rabbi Kleinberg:

In your recent article in Jewish News of Phoenix, you stated that we Jews must cross "...the thresholds of other denominations' houses of worship, not only for a celebration but also to pray together."

However, in an article in Forward magazine (9/20/2002), your mentor Rabbi Avi Weiss was quoted as stating: "Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School, as an Orthodox institution, requires that its students daven only in synagogues with mechitzot."

Rabbi Kleinberg's Response:

Rabbi Weiss and I may well have different stands on this issue - although I believe that that statement refers specifically to regular attendance as opposed to what I was referring to.

My Response...
Via email, I said to Rabbi Kleinberg that I fail to see the difference between attending (a non-mechitza prayer service) one time or a hundred times.

Rabbi Kleinberg's Response:

In halacha we do have precedent for the idea that something can be done infrequently but should not become the regular practice. For an interesting example of this, see Rabbi Moshe Feinsteins discussion of "biah shelo c'darka" - i.e. sexual practice that deviates from the missionary position.

The reason I use this example is because it deals with an area of living in which one might expect halacha to be more rigid (compare to Catholics) - and yet R.Moshe is very broad-minded in his responsa.

So too here - the distinction between regular attendance in a non-Orthodox shul for fulfillment of one's personal prayer obligations and a more "now-and-then" attendance for the greater good of the Jewish people (if one sees it as such - of course many will not agree with me on this point either) is an important one.

An unnamed rabbi suggested that I should have titled this post, "Mechitza shelo c'darka". Or, I was thinking maybe a Shakespearean Jewish motif: "To be-ah shelo c'darka" or "Not to be-ah shelo c'darka", that is the question of mechitza.

The $64,000 question...where and how can I learn to make such fascinating Torah connections and insights?