Rebbe's wife put curtains inside the women's section, so that women could not see into the men's section.) Curtain Usually tall or higher, made of opaque or semi-opaque material, held up by poles on stands or a clothesline. This option costs less than the above fixed options and is used frequently by synagogues that wish to use their prayer halls for mixed-sex functions in addition to separate sex prayer. College Hillel Orthodox minyans may choose this option because the rooms at Hillel are all used for multiple purposes besides prayer. Separate room The strictest separation has women in a separate room from the men, able to view through one-way glass or an open window from a balcony, or not view at all. Examples of this are the yeshiva Ohr Someach in the neighborhood of Maalot Dafna in Jerusalem, where the men sit in a first floor room with a two-story ceiling, and the women are on the second floor with a window overlooking the men's prayer hall. A similar design (men first floor, women second floor) is in 770 Eastern Parkway, the main synagogue for the Chabad Lubavitch movement in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and the Main Belzer Shul in Jerusalem. Uses unrelated to gender separation Eruv In halakhic discourse, "mechitza" can also refer to the boundary walls of an eruv for carrying (to carry within a given area on the Sabbath the area must be entirely enclosed). There are many specific rules for what constitutes a valid mechitza, although the mechitza does not have to be solid. (For example, there are many instances where part of an eruv may be a string run across several poles, and this could constitute a valid mechitza). Sukkah The walls of a sukkah are also referred to as a "mechitza" in the Talmud. These walls must be at least ten tefachim (approximately 32") high for the sukkah to be valid. See also Gender separation in mosques Gender separation in Judaism Footnotes References Alkalay-Gut, Karen. Mechitza. Cross-Cultural Communications, 1986. Goldman, Karla. Beyond the Synagogue Gallery: Finding a Place for Women in American Judaism. Harvard University Press, 2000. Goodman, Marina. Why Should I Stand Behind the Mechitzah if I Could Be a Prayer Leader? Targum, 2003. Litvin, Baruch (Editor). The Sanctity of the Synagogue: The Case for Mechitzah-Separation Between Men and Women in the Synagogue-Based on Jewish Law, History, and Philosophy. Ktav Publications Inc. 1987. External