The Mechitza Conundrum

AHHHHHH AMERICAAA!

A nice place! But I go to shul and I see something I am not used to where I come from. The mechitza is either so low that the women are in full view or the mechitza is transparent. Chazal apparently understood that when a man can see a woman it may well distract him enough that he won't concentrate on his prayers.

They were right.

The Rambam says in one place that the purpose of the mechitza is that men should not "look" at women. If that is the case then the low or see through mechitzas are no good. In another place the Rambam says that the concern is that men shouldn't "mingle" with women. That would mean that a low or transparent mechitza would suffice as it prevents mingling. There is much discussion in our sources regarding the proper height of the mechitza.

Bottom line: Rav Moshe Feinstein famously permits a mechitza that only reaches the shoulders of the women. He holds that our concern is that men and women shouldn't mingle. This lenient opinion is also maintained by the Sreedei Aish Rav Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg of blessed memory.

However many others [most famously the Satmar Rebbe] held that the mechitza must completely hide the women from the men's view. They felt that the main issue is whether the men can see the women and when the Rambam wrote "mingle" he meant even to see them as this is a form of mingling [in the mind]. Thus there is no contradiction in the Rambam.

My take: BY GOOOLLLY! It is much easier to daven with a proper high mechitza.[It should also be pointed out that when women come to shul dressed immodestly it is forbidden to daven in their presence]. The only problem is that the woman feel left out. We don't want that!

So I have no solution....