a religious service, lest this lead to gazing and impure thoughts. Due to these restrictions, mechitzot are usually opaque (at least looking from the men's side to the women's side). In some synagogues, the mechitza divided the front and back of the synagogue. In others it divides the left and right sides of the synagogue. The latter is often seen as more equal, since the women are not farther away from the service than the men. The women's section of the synagogue is called the Ezrat Nashim (, women's courtyard) after a similar area in the Temple in Jerusalem. In Ashkenazic European synagogues, the women's section or annex was called the weibershul. Historically, the weibershul was led by a Firzogerin, a learned woman who would translate the Hebrew liturgy of the main service led by the chazzan into the vernacular. Orthodox Judaism is divided on whether a synagogue mechitza represents binding law or a custom. During the middle portion of the 20th century, there were a substantial number of synagogues which considered themselves Orthodox but did not have one. The influential Haredi Posek (decisor) Moshe Feinstein held that a mechitza is required as a matter of Biblical law, holding that the statement in Zechariah 12:12-14 represents not a prophecy about future circumstances but binding Sinaitic law, Halacha LeMoshe MiSinai, regarding present circumstances. He declared that Orthodox Jews are prohibited from praying in a synagogue without one. Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik held that a separation of men and women is Biblically required, while the physical mechitza was required by Rabbinic decree. These views have gained adherence over the later portion of the 20th century. The Orthodox Union (OU), the main body of Modern Orthodox synagogues in the United States, adopted a policy of not accepting synagogues without mechitzot as new members, and strongly encouraging existing synagogues to adopt them. In 2002, Rabbi Avi Weiss of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, stated that "As an Orthodox institution, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah requires its students to daven in synagogues with mechitzot." The Jewish Ledger reported that as of 2005, "Beth Midrash Hagadol-Beth Joseph remains the only synagogue in the country affiliated with the Orthodox Union (OU) to have so-called 'mixed seating.'" However, in 2015 this synagogue decided to leave the OU, after learning that the OU was planning to expel it from OU membership. Mixed-seating Orthodox synagogues (Conservadox), which were a prevalent minority as late as a