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The Western Wall, or Kotel, is a sacred site in the Old City of Jerusalem for Jews to pray and mourn the loss of their temple. It is also known as the “Wailing Wall” and has customs such as inserting prayers into wall slots. The wall was built in AD 20 and only a small portion is accessible to the public. Jews were denied access until 1967 when the Old City was captured by Israeli paratroopers.
The Western Wall, or Kotel, is a section of the retaining wall built in AD 20, which surrounded the sacred Temple Mount, which was destroyed in AD 70. It is located within the Old City of Jerusalem and is sacred to Jews. They have gone there for hundreds of years to pray and mourn the loss of their temple. It is a constant reminder of what no longer exists and of the salvation that will come one day. Orthodox Jews around the world turn to the Western Wall when they pray.
In the early 1500s, the wall became increasingly revered by the Orthodox Jewish population, and it was around this time that it began to be referred to as the “Wailing Wall”. Although it was approximately 1580 feet (485 m) long, only a very small portion of the wall was accessible to the public. The piece left standing today is only 195 feet (60 m) long. Many Jews make religious pilgrimages there to this day, and continue to weep, or lament, in reverence for their lost temple. They also go there to pray, and these prayers are said to be particularly effective.
There are numerous customs affiliated to the Western Wall. Jews believe that the gate to Heaven is located near the Wailing Wall and that prayers said there easily transcend into Heaven. Prayers are commonly written on small pieces of paper and inserted into wall slots. In the past, shoes were removed before approaching the wall and Jewish women were honored for cleaning parts of it. These customs are generally no longer practiced.
The stones used to build the Wailing Wall were extremely large, some weighing over 50 tons. There are seven rows of these large stones above ground, with four or five rows of smaller stones above them. These were added much later, in the early 8th century. On top of these are even smaller stones and the date they were added is a matter of debate. The three rows of white stones that sit on the top were placed there by the Muslim Religious Council in recent times in an attempt to repair part of the ancient wall.
The Western Wall was handed over to the Arab Legion in 1948 and was under the control of the Jordanian government, which denied access to Jews. It wasn’t until June 1967, when the Old City was captured by Israeli paratroopers in the Six-Day War, that Jews were once again allowed close to the Western Wall to worship. There is now an area in front of the wall where men and women can pray in separate areas as is required for Orthodox Jews.
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