The Western Wall in
Jerusalem, formerly known as the `Wailing Wall` - a reference to Jews
lamenting the loss of the Second Temple - is the holiest site
in Judaism.
To Jews around the world it is a link with the heritage of a
people whose recorded history stretches back to the promised land more than
4,000 years ago. The Western Wall is a tangible and sacred place of worship which
all Jews aspire
to visit in the belief that it is the one place where God will
listen
to their supplications. Archaeologists consider it is possible that the
lowest levels come from King Solomon`s Temple. The famous Copper
Scroll, the first of the Dead Sea Scrolls speaks of many treasures
hidden `forty stones deep`.... Devout Jews believe the `gateway to heaven`
lies beneath the ancient stones .
Jewish men and women, separated by a barrier, are to be seen praying
along
the fifty metre length of wall at every hour of the day. As directed
in the talmud they stand close to and facing the wall as though
they were standing in front of the Kodesh Hakadosim, Holy of
Holies in the sanctuary itself.
Devotions at the wall have taken place continuously since the early
Byzantine
period confirming rabbinic belief that ‘the Divine Presence`
never
departs from the Western Wall. It is a tradition for worshippers to wedge pieces of
paper with written supplications into the crevices between the
stones and all along the length of the wall people are to be seen
pushing
petitions into the cracks beseeching the Divine to bestow on them good
fortune, a happy marriage and healthy children.
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We learn from the bible
that the First Temple, built in the 10th century BC was razed by
Babylonian armies in the 6th century. The Second Temple, constructed in
516 BC and of which now only the west wall remains, was destroyed
by the Roman invaders of Judea around four centuries later
The Jewish historian,
Flavius Josephus has left a dramatic account of this
event written in around 92 AD:
’As soon as the army had no more people to slay, orders were given to
demolish the entire city and Temple. But the wall on the left side of
the
city was spared in order to demonstrate to posterity how well
fortified was
Jerusalem which the Roman army subdued’.
Jews on the other hand
believe the wall was spared due to a
promise made
by God that a portion of the Temple would be left to indicate His
unbroken
bond with the Jewish people. Many prayers therefore contain the fervent
plea to rebuild a Third Temple, on this Holy of Holies
site in the sacred
city of Jerusalem.
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The plaza in front of the wall is seldom totally deserted. Elderly
orthodox Jews come to pray when day dawns, Bar Mitzvah ceremonies
celebrating a boy`s maturity are held there while newly married
couples, still wearing their wedding finery, arrive to say special
prayers for their future together. On High Holy Days such as Rosh
Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, the area has to be closed
because of the tens of thousands from all over Israel coming to offer
prayers.
In his memoirs, a single incident recounted by General Moshe Dayan
emphasises
the importance of the Western Wall to the Jewish people. Recalling the
awesome
moment in 1967 when he stood in front of the Western Wall again, he
writes:
....Throughout all generations, the Jewish people have yearned for
Jerusalem… the object of their pilgrimage, their dreams and their longings. As I stood in
silence facing the Wall I took a notebook out of my pocket and writing
the words: “May peace descend upon the whole House of
Israel” I placed it in a crevice.
n a radio interview he continued: ‘We have returned to
the holiest of our sites, and will never again be
separated from it. To our Arab neighbours, Israel
extends the hand of peace, and to the peoples of all
faiths we guarantee full …. religious rights. We are
here to ensure the unity of the city and to live in it
in harmony with others”
While it is unlikely that
any Jewish man or woman on a visit to Israel fails to
worship at the Western Wall, they are not alone.
Thousands of Christian pilgrims travelling in the Holy
Land also come to pay their respects at this holy place so
close to the sacred Muslim sites on Temple Mount.
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