The Western Wall



In AD70, Roman soldiers destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, ending the sacrificial system that had been practiced since the Passover and the Law. Unable to offer that 'sweet savor' that rises from the altar to heaven, orthodox Jews have replaced the animal sacrifices with prayers that they offer throughout the day. The Western Wall is the quintessence of their substitute system of prayerful offerings. Scraps of paper with scribbled prayers and requests are crammed in the stone cracks, crowding in to be answered. This wall is sacred to the Jews because it is what remains of the retaining wall built by Herod the Great in 20 BC to support the esplanade of the Temple. “For centuries, this section was called the wailing Wall; Jews from the adjoining Jewish Quarter came there to pray and to lament the destruction of the Temple. Houses came to within 4m of the wall, but after 1967, they, and a number of mosques, were razed to create the present plaza and the name was changed to something less evocative of a sad past.” (The Holy Land, Jerome Murphy-O’Conner, p97).

You have to go through security inorder to get up to the Western Wall. They not only check that you don't have any weapons but also that your arms and legs are modestly covered. The courtyard right in front of the wall is divided into a men and a women's side, with all visitors separating to go to one side or the other. When they are finished praying, the Jews walk backward so as not to turn their back on the wall as a sign of irreverance or disrespect. Once they are far enough away, they then turn and leave.