Photo by
Yoav Dudkevitch/TPS-IL on 10 September, 2023
Photo Essay: Messages to God Cleaned From Western Wall
Jerusalem, 10 September, 2023 (TPS-IL) --
One of Jerusalem’s most iconic religious traditions is custom of writing prayers on scraps of paper and placing them in the cracks of the Western Wall.
Visitors of all faiths to the holy site leave thousands of notes for God — known as ptakim — praying for personal success, a loved one’s health, peace in the Middle East and all kinds of hopes and dreams.
The custom stems from Jewish teachings that God’s presence never left the Western Wall and that prayers ascend to heaven through the adjoining Temple Mount. People unable to visit can also write notes on the Foundation’s website which are printed out placed in the wall by staff.
Twice a year — before Passover and the High Holidays — the Western Wall Heritage Foundation removes the notes from the cracks. The foundation administers the holy site’s daily affairs. The cleanup is done under the supervision of the Chief Rabbi of the Western Wall and the Holy Places Shmuel Rabinowitz, Rabbi of the Western Wall and the Holy Places.
The more than 20,000 notes removed from the wall will be buried in a Jewish cemetery on the nearby Mount of Olives. Workers are careful to respect the privacy of the prayers and do not read the notes.
At the end of August, engineers inspected the wall for safety, removing loose stones and seasonal plants. Thousands of Jews will visit the Western Wall during the High Holidays and the week-long holiday of Sukkot. The High Holidays being with Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish new year, which starts on Sept. 15 at sundown.
The Western Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall, is the only remnant of a retaining wall encircling the Temple Mount built by Herod the Great and is the holiest site where Jews can freely pray. The Temple Mount, where the First and Second Temples were built, is the overall holiest site in Judaism.
Worshippers at the Western Wall were able pray for a happy new year as workers made room for the next six months of notes.
Photos by Yoav Dudkevitch/TPS
