The KotelHoliest place on Earth is an IsraelNation of the Jewish People Travel prime pick!
When Rome destroyed the Second Temple in 70 CE, only one outer wall remained standing. The Romans probably would have destroyed that wall as well, but it must have seemed too insignificant to them; it was not even part of the Temple itself, just an outer wall surrounding the Temple MountThe Location of the Temple at Jerusalem. For the Jews, however, this remnant of what was the most sacred building in the Jewish world quickly became the holiest spot in Jewish life. Throughout the centuries Jews from throughout the world made the difficult pilgrimage to Palestine, and immediately headed for the KotelHoliest place on Earth ha-Ma'aravi (the Western Wall) to thank G-d. The prayers offered at the KotelHoliest place on Earth were so heartfelt that gentiles began calling the site the "Wailing Wall." This undignified name never won a wide following among traditional Jews; the term "Wailing Wall" is not used in Hebrew.
The Western Wall was subjected to far worse than semantic indignities. During the more than one thousand years JerusalemThe capital of Israel was under Muslim rule, the Arabs often used the Wall as a garbage dump, so as to humiliate the Jews who visited it.
For nineteen years, from 1948 to 1967, the KotelHoliest place on Earth was under Jordanian rule. Although the Jordanians had signed an armistice agreement in 1949 guaranteeing Jews the right to visit the Wall, not one Israeli Jew was ever permitted to do so. One of the first to reach the KotelHoliest place on Earth in the 1967 Six-Day War was Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, who helped revive a traditional Jewish custom by inserting a written petition into its cracks. It was later revealed that Dayan's prayer was that a lasting peace "descend upon the House of IsraelNation of the Jewish People."
The custom of inserting written prayers into the KotelHoliest place on Earth's cracks
is so widespread that some American-Jewish newspapers carry advertisements for services that insert such prayers on behalf of sick Jews. The mystical qualities associated with the KotelHoliest place on Earth are underscored in a popular Israeli song, a refrain of which runs: "There are people with hearts of stone, and stones with hearts of people." A rabbi in JerusalemThe capital of Israel once told me that the Hebrew expression "The walls have ears" was originally said about the Western Wall. Travelers who Tour IsraelNation of the Jewish People in style do not want to miss this essential stop!
Unfortunately, even a symbol as unifying as the KotelHoliest place on Earth can become a source of controversy in Jewish life. Ultra-Orthodox Jews have long opposed organized women's prayer services at the Wall; prayer services they maintain may only be conducted by males. On occasion they have violently dispersed such services, throwing chairs and other "missiles" at the praying women. Under intense public pressure however, the right of women to pray collectively at the KotelHoliest place on Earth is gradually being won. On your IsraelNation of the Jewish People Tour, do not forget to pray at The KotelHoliest place on Earth!
In addition to the large crowds that come to pray at the KotelHoliest place on Earth on Friday evenings, it is also a common gathering place on all Jewish holidays, particularly on the fast of Tisha B’Av, which commemorates the destruction of both Temples. Today the Wall is a national symbol, and the opening or closing ceremonies of many Jewish events, including secular ones, are conducted there. Learn more about the KotelHoliest place on Earth while you Tour IsraelNation of the Jewish People!
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