Jerusalem: The Great Israeli Security Wall and Jews denying Israel. Israel has begun building a “smart wall” on the border with Palestine A wall on the border between Israel and Palestine

Updated: March 7, 2019

The Western Wall (Western Wall) is a surviving part of an ancient fortification structure in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is located on the western side of the Temple Mount and faces the spacious square of the Jewish Quarter. This building is Israel's greatest religious monument.

The wall, reaching a length of 450 m, consists of 45 rows of masonry, 17 of them are located underground, and 28 are on the surface of the earth. Its total height is estimated by experts at 32 m, with the open fragment reaching a height of about 19 m.

Interesting to know! This part of the structure is made of huge stones with a smooth surface without the use of any fastening mortars. The length of each stone is from 1.5 to 3 m, width - 1-1.2 m, weight from 2 to 6 tons. One stone, which is called Western, weighs about 570 tons and reaches a length of 13 m.

Pool Scrution

There is an underground tunnel along the entire Wall. It begins in the square of the Jewish Quarter, goes under the Muslim Quarter, goes out to the ancient water pipes and ends in front of the Scrution pool, into which rainwater was collected under Emperor Adrianor for the needs of the townspeople. Going down into the tunnel, you can see that part of the monumental structure that is not visible from above. During excavations, archaeologists discovered numerous finds related to various eras in the history of both the Western Wall and all of Israel.

Excursion into history

The description of the history of the Western Wall in Jerusalem can be made very brief, although in reality the history of the existence of this structure goes back hundreds of years.

In the 10th century BC. By order of King Solomon, the Temple was built on the Temple Mount, which became the most important shrine for the Jews. In 586 BC. it was destroyed by the Babylonians, but 70 years later the Jews built a new Temple there.

In 19 BC. e. At the behest of King Herod, the small plateau on which the Temples stood was expanded, and its area became very spacious. This is how the Temple Mount acquired its present appearance. This extended area was surrounded on all sides by a strong supporting wall to support the earthen embankment. The current Western Wall is part of that ancient supporting structure.

In 70 AD e., when the First Jewish War was going on, the troops of the Roman Empire destroyed almost all of Jerusalem, but the Western Wall survived.

When in 135 A.D. The Romans suppressed the uprising of the Jews and forbade them to live in Jerusalem. Only in 425 AD. e. The Jewish people received permission from the Byzantine Empress Elia Eudokia to live in Jerusalem. In the 7th century, the Jews added 4 more stone rows on top of the Wall, since its lower part was already covered with earthen deposits.

In 1517, Jerusalem came into the possession of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, and life for the Jewish people changed for the better. By order of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, a large-scale fortress wall was built around Jerusalem - now it surrounds the Old City. As history tells, it was Suleiman the Great who allowed the Jews to pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, and this happened in the second half of the 16th century. At the same time, another 14 rows of the Wall were completed.

Since the 1800s, the sacred building has become a real “stumbling block”, increasing hostility between the Muslim and Jewish communities living in Jerusalem. Jews repeatedly tried to acquire land and buildings located next to the sacred building, but Muslims did not allow this. In 1917, Jerusalem was captured by British troops, and the situation worsened even more. And when the Jordanian army occupied the Old City in 1948, the Jews completely lost the ability to approach the Wall.

It was only in 1967, during the Six-Day War, that Israeli soldiers recaptured the Old City and Jews could again pray at the sacred site.

Wailing Wall - where does the name come from?

Since part of the Temple Mount fortification is located in the west (relative to the ancient Temple), it is called the Western Wall. But why does it have such a name – the Wailing Wall?

When the Temples were destroyed, the Jews began to gather there and mourn their loss. According to Jewish law, when visiting the Western Wall and contemplating the devastation reigning around, every believer is obliged to cry and tear his clothes. The Arabs, who repeatedly observed how the Jews wept here over the destroyed Temples, called the ruins of the ancient structure the Wailing Wall.

Interesting to know! Both ancient Temples that stood on the Temple Mount succumbed to destruction on the same day, only in different years. The sacred texts say that this is not accidental - this is how the Jews were punished for creating idols for themselves and often provoking bloodshed.

There is another version why the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem is called that: sometimes droplets of moisture appear on the stone, similar to tears. The last time tearing was recorded at the Wall in Israel was in 1940.

What does the Western Wall mean in Judaism?

Why is the Western Wall revered by Jews as the greatest shrine? It is the only one that survived the destruction of the Temples, and it is closest to the Cornerstone on the Temple Mount, which is considered the greatest shrine in Judaism.

The sages say that praying in Israel at the Wall is equivalent to praying before the Throne of Glory, since here are the gates of heaven and they are open so that all prayers can be heard. The scriptures say that the Wall is the place where God is always present. All prayers to God have special power here and are always fulfilled. For centuries, pilgrims have gathered here to pray, touch the shrine, and strengthen their faith.

People visiting the Western Wall for the first time are amazed by the noise around them: it comes from a crowd of people praying here. During prayer, Jews usually rock very zealously on their heels, leaning forward strongly, and some simply stand with their foreheads resting on the stone shrine.

Good to know! Most Jews recognize the Western Wall as the most important shrine of Judaism. But there are also those who do not visit it, for example, followers of the Satmar Hasidic court. They argue that the Israeli government has turned the Wall into a tourist site, thereby degrading its sanctity.

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How to write a note to the Western Wall

People have long believed that if you mention a person’s name at this shrine, it will be a good sign. This belief contributed to the emergence of the custom of composing messages with requests to the Almighty and leaving them in the Wall. This custom has been known for at least three hundred years. Anyone can leave a letter here, regardless of nationality, professed religion, or social status.

How to write a note to the Western Wall? Are there any important points to consider when writing?

The type of paper, the color of the ink, the size of the message, as well as the language in which it is written - all this has absolutely no meaning.

Note! What is really important is the feelings with which the petition will be written. You cannot create a message to God while experiencing negative feelings (anger, resentment, anger). You need to pray so that love and joy are in your heart - these are the main conditions for how to write a note to the Western Wall.

In the text it is advisable to express gratitude for everything that has already been received from God. You can only ask for the most important and intimate things: to receive something you really want, to help you in a difficult situation.

Any crevice between the stones is suitable for putting a note in it. It’s simply amazing how many believers leave them, but they all fit. Religious ministers take out all the messages twice a year and conduct a special burial ceremony with them on the Mount of Olives.

Note online or by mail

And if you can’t go to Jerusalem to the Western Wall, how to write a note, how to send it to the shrine?

Important! You can compose a letter and send it by mail, or use a special website. The main thing is the power of prayer so that the request is heard!

Thousands of letters arrive in Israel that say “Israel, Jerusalem, to God.” Israel Post delivers them to the Jewish Quarter synagogue, and the rabbi takes them to the Wall. Volunteers are involved in maintaining charity websites - they print all requests received on the site and take them to the Wall.

What rules must be followed when visiting the Western Wall?

There are certain rules that must be followed when visiting the Western Wall in Jerusalem:

Men should pray at the left side of the Wall, and women at the right.
Women must wear clothing that covers their shoulders and knees. Men must have a hat. If necessary, you can use a bale - baskets with such free hats are located in the square.
Before approaching a sacred structure, you must wash your hands. Special pump rooms with water are installed on the square for this purpose.
You cannot remove other people's notes from the Wall and read them.
When leaving the Wall, you cannot turn your back to it - you need to leave with your face turned to the shrine.

And a few more points that everyone who is planning to visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem should definitely know:

Control is carried out at each of the entrances to the square. Security guards check all visitors with a metal detector and search some. These are safety measures that must be treated with understanding.
Although there are a lot of food stalls in the square, the guards do not allow anyone to approach the stone shrine with food. The same as with pets.
In order not to distract anyone from prayer, before approaching the Wall, you need to turn off your mobile phone. Taking photographs and videos is prohibited on Shabbat and Jewish holidays.

This is interesting! In the summer of 2008, Barack Obama placed a note on the Wall, printed on hotel paper. After Obama and his security detail left, the seminary student took out the note and then sold it to the staff of the Maariv newspaper. The newspaper published the text of the message, which caused a number of criticisms due to violations of confidentiality.

Practical information

The Western Wall is located in the Old City of Jerusalem (Israel), in the Jewish Quarter. You can visit her at any time - there are people praying there at any time of the day or night.

How to get there

Jaffa Gate

You can get to the Wall on foot along two roads:

From the Jaffa Gate through the Christian Quarter, you need to go along the Armenian Quarter.
From the Dung (Garbage) Gate you need to go through the Jewish Quarter.

If you don’t want to go, you can travel to the square on a special tourist train. Departure point: Jaffa and Dung gates. The train runs every day every 30 minutes: in summer from 10:00 to 20:00, and in winter from 10:00 to 18:00. The train does not run on Saturday, and on Fridays and days before holidays it runs only from 10:00 to 14:00.

From Jerusalem to the Dung Gate there are buses No. 1, 3, 51, 83, 746, 882. You need to get off at the “Dung Gate” stop.

Buses No. 104, 115, 117, 124, 125, 231, 232, 234, 284, 480, 755 go to the Jaffa Gate from Jerusalem. You need to go to the “Yaffo Gate” stop.

In addition, you can take a free shuttle from Jerusalem First Railway Station to the Jewish Quarter. It departs every 20 minutes on all days of the week except Saturday: Sunday-Thursday from 08:00 to 20:00, on Friday and other days before the holiday from 08:00 to 14:00.

Cost of visit

You can visit the Western Wall, one of the most important shrines located in Israel, completely free of charge.

On a note! The square accepts donations, which go towards maintaining the Wall and wages for the caretakers. It is believed that leaving a donation means doing a good deed.

As you know, the Western Wall is visible not only from the square - its underground part can be seen by visiting the tunnel. You can only get into it as part of an excursion group accompanied by a licensed guide. Tourists enter the tunnel from the south side and exit from the north; the time spent underground is one and a half hours.

Excursions are not conducted on Shabbat and other holidays; on Fridays and pre-holidays, visiting the dungeon is possible before lunch, on all other days - from 7:00 to 23:00.

Tour cost:

for adults 35 shekels,
for pensioners 17.5 shekels,
for children and students 19 shekels.

Distant millennia ago, the Western Wall was conceived as a protection and support for the central temple in Jerusalem. King Herod ordered the construction of a large-scale structure. The Western Wall was built from many stones that were previously smoothly hewn. They were produced without the help of a fastening compound.

It was real hard work. The stones used for laying were sometimes huge. The weight of each stone reached about a couple of tons. Their height was 1-1.2 m, and their length ranged from 1.5 to 12 m. According to historians and archaeologists, the length of the structure was 488 m. Only a small fragment is visible to viewers today, because part of the wall is hidden behind others, and the lower part covered with embankment.

What does the wailing wall symbolize?

Until the 16th century, almost no one paid attention to this part of the wall. There were no believers or tourists here. This was just a part that remained from the destroyed Jerusalem Temple. There were merchants near the wall, and the population preferred in the eastern and parts of the city. On that side there were rich and lush walls.

It was only in the 16th century that the Western Wall found its true purpose. It became a place of prayer for the Jewish people, who at that time came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. According to Jewish tradition, it was necessary to come to this part of the wall 3 times a year and offer prayer. This tradition has been preserved to this day.

For all believers, the wailing wall symbolizes hope for the best, freedom, faith in a wonderful future, cleansing from sins. This is a holy place where everyone can come and be alone with God. The only thing is that it is necessary to respect the traditions of our ancestors. You must approach the wall in modest clothing and with your head covered. At the same time, women and men offer prayers separately from each other.

About 300 years ago, another tradition associated with the Western Wall began. Believers began to place notes with wishes and appeals to God between its stones and in the cracks. Every year, more than a million letters from believers and tourists are placed on the Western Wall. So that everyone can leave notes, Rabbi Rabinovich, together with his assistant, collects all the letters twice a year and buries them in the Jewish cemetery.

Now the Western Wall is recognized as a holy place for the Jewish people. Jews from all over the world come to Jerusalem to pray at the shrine.

The Western Wall (in modern tradition the Western Wall) is the remains of a colossal ancient foundation on the Temple Mount. Two thousand years ago, the biblical Temple of Jerusalem stood here. Today it is a sacred place for Jews around the world.

The Wall itself is a fragment of limestone 57 meters long and 19 meters high. It is noticeable that the stones of the lower seven rows are larger - they were laid during the time of King Herod mentioned in the Bible.

However, under these rows archaeologists discovered much larger blocks. The most powerful of them, weighing up to 400 tons, date back to the era of King Solomon (10th century BC). Temple of Solomon, in the Holy of Holies of which the Ark of the Covenant with the tablets of Moses was kept, in 586 BC. e. destroyed by the Babylonians. Seven decades later, the Jews rebuilt and dedicated the Second Temple. In 19 BC. e. King Herod began its reconstruction. To expand the site of the sanctuary, he built a powerful retaining wall, and filled the space inside it with soil.

In 70, the Romans destroyed the city and temple, and in 135, after the defeat of the Bar Kochba revolt, Jews were forbidden to even visit Jerusalem. The wall, all that remained of the legendary Temple, became for many centuries a center of spiritual attraction for Jews scattered throughout the world. The Christian Emperor Constantine I allowed them to enter the city once a year to mourn the loss of the Temple at the Wall. The Islamic warrior Saladin, who captured Jerusalem in 1193, settled Moroccans near the Wall - their houses appeared just 4 meters from the ancient stones. The right to freely worship the shrine was granted to Jews in the second half of the 16th century by Suleiman the Magnificent. Since the 19th century, they have been trying to buy the quarter located near the Wall, but nothing came of it. The place became a point of constant tension between Jews and Arabs.

After the formation of the State of Israel in 1948, the Old City came under Jordanian control. In theory, Jews had the right to visit the Wall; in practice, this was impossible. Pilgrims could only see the Wall from nearby Mount Zion. In 1967, during the Six-Day War, Israeli paratroopers fought their way through the narrow streets of the Old City to the Wall. They wept and prayed for their fallen comrades, and Rabbi Goren blew the shofar on the ritual horn for the first time in two thousand years. Forty-eight hours later, the Israeli army bulldozed the Arab quarter, creating a square in front of the Wall that could accommodate more than 400 thousand people.

Recruits take the oath of office here, state ceremonies take place, and families celebrate their children’s coming of age. And, of course, thousands of believers flock here, in the heart of Jerusalem, every day. A huge, echoing Wall dominates the square. People, closing their eyes, fall to the Wall, hug it, kiss the stones. In the cracks they leave notes with prayer requests (more than a million every year). Faith and hope lead people to the sacred stones, which the biblical prophet Jeremiah, who predicted the destruction of Solomon's Temple, prophesied for many centuries.

On a note

Location: Western Wall Plaza, Jerusalem
Opening hours: daily, 24 hours a day. After religious holidays from 10.00 to 22.00.
Tickets: adults - 25 shekels, children and discounts - 15 shekels.

Jerusalem is the ancient and patient keeper of the secrets of the Jewish people. It has remained a mystery to scientists for many centuries and invariably attracts believers and ordinary tourists from all over the world.

This is a sacred place for Jews, Christians and Muslims. There are many attractions here, and one of the most valuable of them, certainly worthy of attention, is the Western Wall.

The wall is located in the old part of the city at the very base of the western slope of the sacred temple mountain, and has a length of 488 meters. But only 57 meters of the structure are open to pilgrims.

The rest of the area is hidden by residential buildings that are located along the entire length of the slope.

The wall has a height of 32 meters. But its ground part is only 19 meters - that’s 25 layers of stone. The remaining 13 meters, made up of another 17 layers, are located in the underground part of the complex.

At different times, the wall was completed, and therefore only the first 7 rows are original stones, laid by order of Herod the Great himself, the founder of this structure. Its construction took place in 22. BC. to 11 BC.

The next 4 rows were laid out already in the Umayyad period and another 14 during the reign of the Ottoman Empire.

The wall bears this name because in this place Jews mourn the first two Jewish temples that stood on the mountain and were destroyed by the conquerors.

The first of them was erected by King Solomon in the 10th century BC. The most sacred Jewish relics were kept in it: the ark of the covenant and the scrolls of divine commandments. But the temple was destroyed in 587 BC. the ruler of Babylonia, Nebuchadnezzar. In 500 BC a second temple was built.

Around 19 BC. Procurator Herod decided to increase its area by artificially expanding the territory of the temple mount. In order to support the earthen embankment, he ordered the construction of a supporting wall along the entire perimeter.

Today's Western Wall is part of this grandiose structure.

There is a legend that Herod had to resort to cunning during its construction.

Since Jerusalem was under Roman rule in those days, permission was required for the construction of any structure. Herod decided not to anger the great emperor and sent a messenger to Rome, ordering him not to rush too much. Meanwhile, he himself began to implement his plan.

By the time the messenger arrived from the capital with an answer, the wall had already been built. The emperor, in his response, ordered to destroy what had already been built, but if the construction was completed, then do not touch the wall and leave everything as it is.

In fact, during his lifetime, Herod managed to build no more than half of the wall. Its construction was completed under his great-grandson Agrippa II. Proof of this is the Roman coins found during excavations and dating back to a later period.

But still, the entire complex and most of the wall were destroyed during the war with the Romans in 70 BC. The victors killed and captured about a million Jews. The surviving representatives of this nationality were forbidden to remain in Jerusalem, and they were forced to flee and settle in other countries.

As the sacred legends say: “On the day of destruction, all the gates of heaven were closed. Only the gates of tears remained open.”

Only the western wall, built from huge stones, surprisingly precisely fitted to each other, was saved from vandalism. It is this place that the Jews today consider to be the closest to God. Under Emperor Constantine I, Jews received the right once a year to come to the remains of their destroyed temple and mourn it. They paid a considerable amount for this opportunity.

And only in 425, by order of the then Empress of Byzantium, Elia Eudokia, were Jews able to settle in Jerusalem and freely come to their destroyed shrine.

Currently, behind the wall, on the site where the first two temples were located, is the third most important Muslim shrine, the Dome of the Rock mosque. At its base there is a stone from which the Prophet Muhammad, according to legend, flew into the heavens on a fiery horse.

It is interesting that the Jews themselves call this structure the Western Wall (Kotel Maaravi). And the generally accepted name has Arabic roots. It is the Arabs who call this place el-Mabka (wall of lamentation), since Jews came here to mourn the first and second destroyed temples.

Today, in the square in front of the wall, believers pray, celebrate the main Jewish holidays and perform the sacred rite of Bar Mitzvah - the initiation of a boy into a man. Here, recruits of selected units of the Israeli army swear allegiance to their homeland.

The area in front of the shrine is divided into women's and men's parts. On the men's side there is an entrance to the only men's synagogue in Israel, located in the underground part of the complex. Hasidim who have dedicated their entire lives to serving God humbly pray in it. This is also where Jews hold meetings. It is also a center of science and culture.

The underground part of the complex is a tunnel 485 meters long. The lowest stones in the underground part of the complex are 14 m long, 4.5 m wide and 3.5 m high. All of them are decorated around the perimeter with decorative rectangular strips up to 20 cm wide and 1.5 cm deep. The lightest stone from this building weighs 640 kg.

What is surprising is that as a result of the strongest earthquakes of the 16th and 18th centuries, when the upper, more modern, part of the complex suffered greatly, the underground was practically not damaged.

Here, underground, you begin to understand how grandiose was the plan of Herod the Great, who built such a huge structure from solid monolithic blocks. According to legend, Jesus visited the temple, which was located outside the wall, three times.

But this place is sacred not only for Jews, but also for Muslims. Therefore, throughout history, disagreements have arisen repeatedly over who will control and care for this sacred territory.

By touching the ancient Acatel Marawi (Western Wall), believers pray and leave written messages to God in it. This tradition was born more than 3 centuries ago. The sages claim that the Almighty hears a person’s desire even at the moment of writing, and the wall simply helps its speedy implementation.

Before this, there was another custom, according to which, for a successful journey, the traveler had to drive a nail into the wall before starting it, which would protect him. When the traveler arrived at his homeland, he removed a nail from the wall.

Many scratched their wishes directly into the stones of the shrine. The rabbis observed these customs with horror and considered them blasphemous. That’s why they suggested leaving notes in the cracks between stones instead of nails, with their requests to God, and they themselves laid the foundation for this tradition. Their requests were fulfilled, and since then the barbaric custom has been replaced by a more humane one.

Since in our time thousands of tourists and pilgrims from all over the world try to visit the shrine and convey their requests to God through paper messages, the wall has to be cleaned regularly twice a year: on the Day of Judgment and on the holiday of Passover. But therefore there is no need to worry about this. All extracted notes are collected and buried on the Mount of Olives, sacred to the Jews.

Recently, a lot of proposals have appeared on the Internet to put your request into the wailing wall without direct participation. It is possible that messages delivered in this way are also fulfilled. But in this case, you will not have the opportunity to feel the amazing energy of this place, to recharge with the strength that it gives to every person who has been here.

Useful information for tourists

It is advisable not to visit the Western Wall on Saturday. This is a Jewish holy day and as such you may encounter a few issues when visiting. You are not allowed to take photographs or use mobile phones. It is also strictly forbidden to bring animals to the wall.

Although access to the wall is open to people of any religion, men should only approach it wearing a kippah, a small round cap, which will be given to you here for free. The woman should be dressed in a formal dress with long sleeves, and her head should be covered with a scarf. Smoking is strictly prohibited near the wall.

It is imperative to move away from the wailing wall with your face towards it and your back to the exit.

How to get to the Western Wall

Buses No. 1, 2 and 38 depart from the Jerusalem Central Bus Station to the wall. Then you should go to the wall, following the crowd of tourists and pilgrims.

It should be taken into account that on Monday and Thursday the sacred rite of Bar Mitzvah is performed at the wall. Therefore, the number of pilgrims increases significantly. To avoid traffic jams, you can get there along the Wadi al-Joz road, which runs through an Arab village. You can also park your car in the city center at one of the many parking lots and walk the rest of the way through the Jaffa Gate.

The easiest way is to use a taxi. In this case, there will be no problems at all.

Opening hours and prices for visiting the Western Wall

The wall is open to visitors every day without restrictions. But after religious holidays, you can approach the wall from 10.00 to 22.00.

Excursions are held from 7.00 to 23.00 (Sunday-Thursday), from 7.00 to 12.00 on Friday.

The cost of the tour is 30 shekels for adults and 15 shekels for children, military personnel, students and pensioners.

Everyone has heard about the Western Wall in Jerusalem, but not everyone knows what it really is, whether wishes really come true next to it, where exactly is this historical monument that works such miracles.

What it is?

A long time ago, in Israel there were two great and, without exaggeration, legendary Temples - the First Jerusalem and the Temple of Solomon. They were built next to each other and made up what is now designated in historical literature as the Temple Mount complex. From the same literature one can learn that nothing remains of the so-called complex of two temples except legends and ruins in the western part of the mountain long before the birth of Christ.

They restored the place for prayer services under the infamous biblical king Herod, just to the east of the square where the Wall, accessible to everyone, is now located.

Google Maps / google.ru

The Western Wall on the map of today's Israel is all that remains of the temple complex once restored by Herod, called the Second Temple of Jerusalem. In general, the original name of this place is הַכֹּתֶל הַמַעֲרָבִי, which is correctly pronounced “ha-Kotel ha-Maaravi” and simply means “western wall.”

Geographically, it is located on Mount Moriah, today it is no longer a particularly large elevation in Old Jerusalem, but at the time the Testaments were written, that is, long before the advent of our era, it really was a real mountain.

The walls encircled the mountain during the first temple of Israel, then during the temple of Solomon, and subsequently during the Second, built by Herod. Therefore, somewhere at the base of the Western Wall in Jerusalem there are stones that have seen everything and everyone that the Old and New Testaments talk about.

All that remains of the temples, overgrown with legends, is only part of the walls that once encircled the mountain, their small fragment on the western slope, which is now called the Western Wall, as well as a relatively small paved area under it.

DAVID HOLT / flickr.com

The monument to history and faith rises 28 rows of stone above the old town, and at least 17 rows of stone are hidden in the ground. The total area occupied by the wall is 57 meters; according to historians, its smallest height, excluding the foundation, was once equal to 32 meters; now it rises above the ground on average, 19 meters.

How miraculously this fragment survived the deliberate destruction of the Second Temple by Roman troops in 70 is, of course, impossible to say now. But the fact that it survived and still stands strengthens the ancient Jewish legend that God himself promised Solomon that it was the western wall that would never be destroyed.

In today's Jerusalem, the Western Wall is not only a landmark, next to which there is a lively trade in “red threads”, those that need to be tied on the wrist, not only a place where you need to write a note to make your cherished wish come true, the Wall is the main Jewish shrine, a place of mass pilgrimage of believers, the flow of which does not stop for a single day a year.

The Wall has its significance not only for Jews, it is sacred for Muslims, because it was here that Muhammad ascended (at the top of the mountain is the most famous mosque in the Middle East, inside there is a stone from which the prophet ascended), it is sacred for Christians, it is here that everything happened events of the Pentateuch and Testaments.

Of course, once in Israel, you simply cannot ignore the monument - the wall is on every map of Jerusalem, regardless of its format and target audience.

Why is it called that?

The history of the Western Wall is also the history of the name itself; literally in Hebrew it has a slightly different meaning; it can be more accurately translated as “wall of lamentation.” However, the “wailing wall” sounds more comfortable to perceive.

The fact that the monument is called this is due to history - after the destruction by the Romans of the shrine, which had stood for over 600 years, Jews began to come under the shadow of the surviving wall to “cry,” as the chronicles written in Rome say.

Paul Arps / flickr.com

It was from the Jewish lamentations over the destroyed sacred site that the name of the western wall came.

Paradoxically, from that time on they began to notice that all the requests addressed to God under the Wall came true. Of course, the ancient Jews did not write notes, they simply complained, prayed, asked and believed that everything said here would definitely come true.

Do wishes come true?

Do all wishes come true? What should be done and how? How to write? How to apply? Does it matter what language you write in?

Many similar questions fall upon any tour guide in the capital of Israel and are asked online on websites dedicated to tourism to this promised land. A fairly large number of people planning their first trip to Jerusalem are interested not only in whether their wish will come true near the shrine or how to correctly formulate their request, but also in whether it is free.

You can leave a note completely free of charge, and the most difficult thing is not how to write it, but how to find a free slot for it. For those who are very worried, it will probably be useful, on the eve of departure, to see with their own eyes what exactly and how is happening at the stones of the ancient shrine.

This is quite easy to do at any time. The fact is that there are web cameras installed on the monument that work 24 hours a day and transmit to the network what is happening right now under the Wall.

In principle, there should be no difficulties in finding a broadcast. You just need to type “online broadcast from the Western Wall” in any search resource. There are a lot of sites showing the signal transmitted by Israeli cameras, which is why it becomes completely easy to see everything in advance.

Paul Arps / flickr.com

As for the note itself, you can write it however you like. The only thing local elders advise is that the letter should come freely, from the heart, without unnecessary thoughts. The note should say the most pressing things, and how many lines are needed for this is a completely personal matter, there are no restrictions. But, you need to understand that it is physically impossible to fit a “multi-volume treatise” into the slot.

From the point of view of the Orthodox clergy, the Wall in Israel is a shrine to the whole world, regardless of religion. Therefore, our priests, like everyone else, do not classify the ritual of leaving a note as “idolatry” or sectarianism, however, just like buying and wearing “red threads” sold almost right under the wall, which have recently become very popular.

There is a small nuance that Muslims were the first to notice: asking for something from the sacred ancient stones of a monument is a prayer to God, and not a petition to the Wall itself. Unfortunately, many tourists either do not understand this point, or are sincerely mistaken, believing that they can simply write down a list of desired material goods, and the Wall will immediately provide it all.

Everything is completely different, and if this place really helped someone, then it’s not about the stones at all, but about faith and prayer, the special aura of the place where people came to pray at the very dawn of human society, thousands of years ago.

Where is?

The wall is located in the Old City and can be reached from Atarot Airport either by car or by transport. The journey in a rented car, if you are familiar with the area, as well as in a taxi, will take only 25-30 minutes, if you drive along Namalha Teufa Street and do not turn by mistake to the Abu Shakri restaurant along the way. The fact is that before the turn there are a lot of signs that confuse a driver who is not familiar with the area.

The portal will help you rent a car, and order a taxi to a certain place and time.

DAVID HOLT / flickr.com

If, nevertheless, a mistake occurs, you don’t have to go back, just turn left after the Abu Shakri complex, onto Derek Beit Hanina Street. It will also lead to the Old City.

The first on the pedestrian path will be the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, if you turn right from the street marked with signs, but if you follow the signs straight, you can get straight to the Wall, without being distracted by others.

Also, buses depart from the airport to the Old Town, they travel approximately three times per hour, going on three different routes. The journey takes about an hour.

Video: Western Wall in Jerusalem.

What else do you need to know?

Among the tourists who visited this monument, there are not only those who left inspired and grateful, there are also disappointed ones who claim that “the wall doesn’t work.”

Why a desire can remain a desire, or can be fulfilled almost instantly, is a question for long debates. But in order to avoid disappointment, we must not forget that the Wall is not a magic tent, it is a holy place intended for prayer, and it is operational, since there is a synagogue under the square.

Lyn Gateley / flickr.com

This must be treated accordingly, with respect, it should be remembered that when entering the territory, you are entering a temple, and not a museum:

Knees, heads and shoulders must be covered.
Clicking smartphones and cameras, especially with flashes, is a manifestation of complete disrespect; if you really want to photograph something, you must first turn off the sound and the flash.
Strictly follow the division into zones from the entrance - female and male “halves” separately.
On Remembrance Day, a ceremony with torches is held in front of the wall - you should not disturb people and try to crawl to the stones with a note, it is better to come at another time.
You should not come during Shabbat; the abundance of praying Orthodox Jews always makes it difficult to be alone with the holy stones and your own thoughts.
The request in this place does not have to be written down; you can just stand and pray to yourself.

As for the notes, they began to be written only in the 18th century, at about the same time when they began to trade in front of the entrance with red amulets and flatbreads with goat cheese; until the end of the 18th century, trade took place in a different place. Therefore, if it is not possible to directly write something down, there is no need to despair; writing is not at all necessary.

If the Western Wall in Jerusalem is a rather ambiguous object, some see it solely as evidence of history, some as a panacea and hope, and some as an ordinary place for prayer, then literally a couple of steps from it there is a completely unambiguous object - the Hasmonean tunnel . This is the site of excavations, you can book an excursion here, here you can see buildings from the time of King Solomon and even earlier ones, with scientifically proven dating.

Excursions around the Old City are not cheap - from 200 to 450 dollars for a group of 1 to 6 people, the price is dictated by the chosen route, the most expensive excursions are those related to Christianity in general and Jesus himself in particular.

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