The mehitzah is the partition or screen in synagogues between the space reserved for men and that for women, with the latter generally being in the rear or upstairs. The origin of the mehitzah is found in the talmudic description of the festivities held on the second evening of the feat of Tabernacles in the court of women of the Temple, and the Talmud states that men and women were allotted separate space. There are other sources for the separation of the sexes in worship, as practiced in traditional synagogues, and they may be found in midrashic literature. The concept is an ancient one, and remains of synagogues discovered in ancient Palestine contain galleries that have been taken as belonging to the women's sections. The mehitzah was abolished in Europe by a reform movement in the 19th century, though it has been revived in the practice of some congregations and has been a feature in Orthodox American synagogues as well. The mehitzah has been controversial among American Jews because it deals with the separation of the sexes in the House of Worship in a society that does not recognize the need for such separation, and this has produced a variety of arguments on both sides as well as court cases challenging the practice. There is now a body of case law on the subject both in Jewish, Talmudic law and in the American court system. The question has been raised whether the separation of the sexes in the Orthodox service is acceptable in contemporary American society, a society emphasizing if not always achieving equality of the sexes and seeking more and more to give women the same opportunities, rights, and responsibilities as men. As will be seen, to a degree this question is raised by those who do not understand the rationale of the Jewish requirement and who ascribe to it motives that are not true. In addition, it is not clear that attempts to regulate such matters legally do not come into conflict with the overriding ri...