Western Wall

This is a view of the Jerusalem center from the Eastern part of the city.
This picture is the closest thing I have to the western wall. The wall is right in front of the Dome of the Rock but you can't see it very well. We couldn't take pictures while at the Western wall because it is the Sabbath for them.

Tonight we had the opportunity to visit the Western Wall, also called the "Wailing Wall", and experience the ushering in of the Sabbath (Shabbat) by the Jews here in Jerusalem. There were so many people there and it was an amazing experience!

We arrived as a group near sundown and it was already very packed with Jewish people trying to approach the wall to pray. The men and women were separated by a barrier because the wall is considered an open-air synagogue to the Jews so we all split up to vie for a spot near the wall on our separate sides. The women's side was much more subdued than the men's due to the men's frequent dancing and singing that they would periodically break out into. They get so excited for the Sabbath! It made me think about how I feel when Sunday comes around. I have to admit that I am not always overly excited about it, and I realized that I can learn a lesson from these people about having the proper attitude concerning the Sabbath. They really do reverence it and consider it holy but they also celebrate and look forward to observing it.

Backing up a little, the Western Wall was originally a retaining wall for the temple mount when Herod the Great built his temple. The Western Wall is the most holy spot in the world for Jews because it is the spot that is closest to where the Holy of Holies was in the days of Herod's temple. The Dome of the Rock mosque is the housing place of the foundation stone from the old temple and that is right on the other side of the wall.

Most of the Jews I observed there had prayer books and were reading their prayers as they rocked back and forth. Apparently the rocking back and forth symbolizes that they are praying with all their heart, might and mind. I also think that some of their prayers have cadences that they rock to as well, I'm not sure though.

Once we had made our way up to the wall, we could see that all the cracks between the large stones were stuffed with little pieces of paper. These little pieces of paper have prayers written on them and the Jews stuff them into the cracks of the wall because they apparently believe that prayers at, or in, the Western wall are answered first. We also heard that people who can't make it to the Western wall can call somewhere and have a prayer written down for them that will be stuck in the wall. Several of our group, including me, also wrote down prayers on pieces of paper and put them in the wall while we were up there.

Once I had actually made it to the wall I was so excited and I decided that I also wanted to say a prayer, so I took time to lean forward against the wall and offer a prayer as so many people around me were doing. What a neat experience!

After finishing their prayer at the wall many Jewish women would back away from the wall while still facing it because they don't want to turn their backs on it. When they get a certain distance from the wall then they turn around.

What an amazing experience to witness such a significant place and the rituals that the Jews perform there!