Editing Mechitza (section)

===Talmudic era===
Although the synagogue mechitza is not mentioned anywhere in Talmudic literature, there is a discussion of a barrier between men and women, used at the [[Sukkot]] festivities in the Jerusalem Temple. The [[Amoraim|Amoraic]] sage [[Abba Arika|Rav]] explains that the divider originated with a statement of the prophet [[Zechariah (Hebrew prophet)|Zechariah]] regarding the mourning following the war between [[Gog and Magog]]:

{{blockquote|The land will mourn each of the families by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself and their wives by themselves; and all the families who remain, each of the families by itself and their wives by themselves.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2312.htm|title=Zechariah 12 / Hebrew - English Bible / Mechon-Mamre|website=mechon-mamre.org|accessdate=29 June 2023}}</ref>}}

Rav explained that if such a sad occasion necessitates a separation between men and women, then the [[Simchat Beit HaShoeivah]] in the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] (a very happy occasion) does as well.<ref name="sukkah">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sefaria.org/Sukkah.51b.11?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en|title=Sukkah 51b:11|website=www.sefaria.org|accessdate=29 June 2023}}</ref>

Scholars have long debated the extent to which [[Gender separation in Judaism|gender segregation]] and a mechitza between the sexes existed in synagogues during the periods of [[Second Temple|the Second Temple]], the [[Mishnah]], and the [[Talmud]]. [[Shmuel Safrai]], through a combination of textual analysis and archaeological evidence, has argued that while women consistently attended synagogue services, there is no definitive evidence to support the existence of a partition separating the genders or the existence of a separate women's aid ([[Ezrat Nashim]]).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Safrai |first=Shmuel |title=ארץ ישראל וחכמיה בתקופת המשנה והתלמוד |publisher=Hakibbutz Hameuchad |year=1983 |location=Israel |pages=94–104 |language=he |trans-title=The Land of Israel and its Sages during the Mishnah and Talmud Period}}</ref> The [[archaeologist]] [[Lee I. Levine|Lee Levine]] notes that there is no evidence in the dedicatory inscriptions found in archaeological excavations regarding the existence of mechitzas, and furthermore, no structure has been found that can be interpreted as a mechitza.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Levine |first=Lee I. |last2= |first2= |date=1991 |title=From Community Center to 'Lesser Sanctuary': The Furnishings and Interior of the Ancient Synagogue |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23403189 |journal=Cathedra: For the History of Eretz Israel and Its Yishuv |language=he |volume=60 |issue= |pages=48 |issn=0334-4657}}</ref>