The Wailing Wall or Western Wall is found in Jerusalem, Israel. According to Jewish tradition and history, it is part of the historic Temple, specifically the Holy of Holies. The Wall is venerated as the holiest spot on earth.
Slips of paper containing written prayers are placed into the crevices of the Wall, based on the Midrashic teaching that the Divine Presence has never moved from the Western Wall. It is also called the Gate of Mercy.
Today, more than a million prayer notes or wishes, written in just about any language and format, are placed in the Wall each year. The lengths of the notes vary from a few words to very long requests. They include poems and Biblical verses, written on a wide variety of papers, including colored paper, notebook paper and even bubblegum wrappers, using a variety of inks.
The Sages of the Talmud stated that if anyone prays at the Temple in Jerusalem, “it is as if you have prayed before the throne of glory because the gate of heaven is situated there and it is open to hear prayer.” Jewish Law stipulates that the Silent Prayer should be recited facing towards Jerusalem, the Temple, and ultimately the Holy of Holies, because God’s bounty and blessing emanate from that spot. Rabbi Jacob Ettlinger writes “since the gate of heaven is near the Western Wall, it is understandable that all Israel’s prayers ascend on high there. A well-known segula (efficacious remedy) for finding one’s soulmate is to pray for 40 consecutive days at the Western Wall!
Throughout the ages, the Wall is where Jews have gathered to express gratitude to God or to pray for divine mercy. On news of the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944 thousands of Jews went to the Wall to offer prayers for the “success of His Majesty’s and Allied Forces in the liberation of all enemy-occupied territory.”
According to Jewish Law, one is obliged to grieve over the desolate site of the Temple. Jews may often be seen sitting for hours at the Wailing-Wall bent in sorrowful meditation over the history of their race, and repeating oftentimes the words of Psalm 79. On Fridays especially, Jews of both genders, of all ages, and from all countries, assemble in large numbers to kiss the sacred stones and weep. Charles Wilson, 1881[9]
Men and women used to gather in a circle at the Wall to hear sermons. In the past women could be found sitting at the entrance to the Wall every Sabbath holding fragrant herbs and spices in order to enable worshipers to make additional blessings. In the hot weather they would provide cool water. The women also used to cast lots for the privilege of sweeping and washing the alleyway at the foot of the Wall.
“On Friday afternoon, March 13, 1863, the writer visited this sacred spot. Here I found between one and two hundred Jews of both sexes and of all ages, standing or sitting, and bowing as they read, chanted and recited, moving themselves backward and forward, the tears rolling down many a face; they kissed the walls and wrote sentences in Hebrew upon them… Rev. James W. Lee, 1863
On Saturdays, it is forbidden to enter the area with electronic devices, including cameras, which infringe on the sanctity of the Sabbath. There was once an old custom of removing one’s shoes upon approaching the Wall. It is a good and praiseworthy custom to approach the Western Wall in white garments after cleansing, kneel and prostrate oneself in submission and recite “This is nothing other than the House of God and here is the gate of Heaven.”
Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, Rabbi of the Western Wall, receives hundreds of letters yearly addressed to “God, Jerusalem“; he folds these letters and places them, too, in the Wall. Online services offer petitioners the opportunity to send their notes to the Western Wall via e-mail, fax, text messaging and Internet; the note is then printed out and inserted in the Wall. The Israeli Telephone Company has established such a fax service, as have a number of charitable websites. According to Jewish law, prayer notes may not be thrown away. The letters are buried because they have the status of letters to God. Twice a year, the notes left in the Wall are collected and buried in the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives.
When departing, the custom is to walk backwards away from the Wall.
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