Tourists are not allowed to take pictures of the prayer sections of the Western Wall, once you are past security. See the gold dome? The wall that you can see here in front of the dome is where people pray.
Truthfully, I was not sure exactly about the history of this wall. I went into our Jerusalem tour thinking the wall was the only remaining wall from the ancient Jewish temple.
That’s almost true. That entire temple was completely destroyed.
The Western Wall is what remains from the retaining wall that was built around the temple. It is considered holy because it was the outer part of the temple, renovated by Herod around 19 B.C. It is the closest standing wall to where the Holy of Holies was located.
“But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! 28Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day.
30Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.
~King Solomon, in 1 Kings 8:27-30
Here is another distant picture of the Western Wall. The Wall is to the right, in front of the gold dome. In the front of the photo is the check-point gate. The guards look in your bag and make sure you are properly covered. Men wear hats, and everyone should have on modest clothing.
–The Temple Mount is also called Mount Moriah and Mount Zion.
–This is also the location where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac, and the Lord instead provided a ram for the sacrifice.
–They say it is here, on Mount Moriah, that Jacob saw a ladder ascending to Heaven in a dream.
–The Orthodox Jews do not like for us to call it the “wailing wall.” That’s offensive. Instead, it should be called the Western Wall.
–Men pray on the left side, and women pray on the right. There’s a partition to divide the 2 groups.
–Israelites refer to the wall as the Kotel.
–From 1948 to 1967, Jerusalem was under Jordanian rule, and Jews were prevented from visiting the wall in spite of the peace agreement.
–In the 6 Days War, the Jews re-took the Wall, in 1967, after 2,000 years.
1. My tour guide
2. History & Overview of the Western Wall on jewishvirtuallibrary.com
3. Six Reasons Why the Wall is Holy on Aish.com
I felt privileged to have the opportunity to pray at the Western Wall. Placing my right hand upon it, I just sort of breathed in the atmosphere of worship. I didn’t even know what to pray, and I regretted not having been more careful to formulate an important plan for what to pray about at this holy place.
While I have no memory of what I prayed for, I do remember feeling thankful and in wonder of it all.
Thankfulness was the theme of this trip for me. I felt thankful and undeserving, but I took full advantage of it, and we enjoyed it immensely.
It was Shabbat, the day that we were there. That’s what they call Saturday, the Sabbath day. The Israelis all greeted each other and us, their guests, with “Shabbat Shalom.”
Our tour guide said that at dusk on Shabbat, the ultra-orthodox Jewish men come out and dance at the Wall. I would have given all the shekels in my purse to watch that, but alas, we were with a group, and it was time for the group to move on.
Shalom, y’all!
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I'm not sure exactly why but I love it when there's a retaining wall next to a temple. They usually do such a good job, and it adds to the overall beauty of the property.
It's interesting to know that temples also have retaining walls, and some historical places have them, still. I just came upon this upon researching about retaining walls for my backyard. It's for keeping the wild animals from entering our home. With this information, I feel like my house is going to be special as well because of having a retaining wall.
Good point! I hope all goes well in putting up your wall!
I loved this post. I remember reading about this. Matthew 24:2. But he responded, "Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!" I was so confused by this since I originally thought it was part of the temple. And then I read it's actually the outer wall left over from King Herrods reign. I read somewhere the King Herod bought his kingship. I don't know if that's true. I bet visiting the wall was so special for you. Beautiful photos girl! Thank you for sharing. I email these to my mom to read at work!
Candace
Thank you so much for all your support, Candace!! I appreciate it so much!! As I was reading about Jaffa, for my most recent post, I came across the oranges, which you mentioned to me earlier and immediately thought of you!!
I grew up Jewish but not Orthodox at all! I grew up Reform. That said, now I have to remember if we called it the Wailing Wall or the Western Wall! I think Wailing at first. I love how much thought you put into this post.
I read that from a seriously Orthodox site. I think most people in Israel are more like you. Most people we met in Israel said, "I'm Jewish, not religious." One super honest man (my husband's driver) said, "I'm Jewish, not religious, because there are so many rules. Who can keep them in the way that they (the orthodox) have interpreted them." We loved this visit. We can't wait to go back.
I love your honest account of praying at the wall. I think I would feel the same. I wonder through the history of time how many people have felt that same way as they stood there?
Yes! I wonder why I didn't think to prepare. I blame my iPhone. Gotta spend less time on that thing.