Women in the synagogue

In the Middle Ages, women often pray in their own room, the women’s shul, which becomes tangible for the first time in the ShUM communities. It is connected to the synagogue, with listening windows acting as an opening between the two buildings, but it does not have a Torah Ark or a bema. In the 18th century, women’s galleries start to appear in synagogues. The reform movement in the 19th century then initiates the gradual abolishment of the strict separation of men and women, which has now completely disappeared from liberal communities but can still partly be found in modern-day orthodox congregations.