mehitzah
1
9.9
A divider like a curtain that separates men and women in a synagogue during services
- noun
- /mɛˈhiːtsə/
- Jargon
:
mehitzá
- During the prayer service, the mehitzah creates a respectful division between the two congregations.
Examples
-
Nothing is easier than to tear down the mehitzah -- the barrier separating men and women at an Orthodox prayer service.
Fiction book (2000) -
The mehitzah in the synagogue allows for separate seating for men and women during services.
-
Many Orthodox synagogues have a mehitzah to maintain traditional practices during worship.
Synonyms
partition
vsmehitzah
15
4.2
A wall or screen that divides one area of a room from another
is specifically used to separate genders during religious services in synagogues
1
9.9
A divider that separates men and women in a synagogue during prayer
is the same concept but spelled differently in the other form
Surface Forms
Etymology
Mehitzah comes from the Hebrew word mechitzah, which simply means 'partition' or 'divider'. So a mehitzah is a divider used in a synagogue to separate men and women during services.