THE WESTERN WALL

Jerusalem

December 2008

The Western Wall is the section of the western supporting wall of the

Temple Mount which was not destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E.

During the Ottoman Period (16th century), the Jews came here to lament the

destruction of the Temple. It was then located in a narrow alley just 3.6 m

wide that could accommodate only a few hundred worshipers.

In 1967, immediately after the Six Day War, Israelis levelled the

neighbouring Arab district to create the Western Wall Plaza (80 m wide),

which can accommodate tens of thousands of pilgrims.

At the same time, the Israelis

made the wall about 1.8 m

higher by digging down and

exposing two more tiers of

ashlars (squared stones) from

the Temple Plaza's retaining

wall that had been buried by

accumulated debris for

centuries.

Today, we can see 28 stone

courses. Starting from the

base:

7 from the Herodian

Period/Second Temple period

(1st century BCE)

4 from the Umayyad period (7th

century CE)

14 from the Ottoman period

(16th century CE)

3 from the Muslim cleric of

Jerusalem before 1967

Jews come here to pray as they

believe that the Divine

Presence never moves from the

Western Wall

Wash basins and water

containers with 2 handles are

provided for the Jews to wash

their hands before prayers

They would wash the right

hand, using the left handle to

hold the container, before the

left

The Jews stand at the wall to

read the Psalms or pray,

swaying as they do so

Written prayers are studded in

between the cracks in this

open synagogue

An ultra-orthodox Jew

(left) in his black suit

A modern orthodox Jew

(right) wearing jeans

An orthodox Jew with

his tefillin (phylacteries

on his head and the

straps around his hand)

and tallit (prayer shawl

with 613 fringes at the

4 corners = the 613 oral

traditions)

Chinese Jew

Every male has to wear

head covering when

entering sacred Jewish

worship places in Israel

Bar Mitzvah (‘son of the commandment’) is celebrated at the Western

Wall Plaza every Monday & Thursday

The 13-year old Jewish boy comes of age & is morally responsible for

his actions

It is a joyous time that is celebrated with the family

The procession begins outside the Plaza

The ceremony

is performed

during the

Shacharit

(morning

prayers)

The highlights:

The celebrant

puts on the

tefillin, wears

the tallit, and is

called up to the

Torah reading

for the first time

The women folk

stood on boxes,

peering from

their side of the

fence

After the

reading of the

Torah, the bar

mitzvah boy

parades around

with the Torah

Scrolls,

accompanied by

lots of singing

& dancing

In an alley

some distance

away from the

Plaza, women

prepare food

for the party

that ends the

ceremony

Below the Plaza are the

Western Wall Tunnels

Originally explored by two

British archaeologists (Charles

Wilson, in 1864; and Charles

Warren, in 1867-1870) who

found that the Wall continued

for 320 m and that some

structures still existed from the

Second Temple period

The Israeli government

continued the northern

exploration by excavating a

tunnel along the entire length

of the Wall which is now 488 m

in length

The Western Wall Tunnel lies

below the Plaza & has 7 stone

courses from the Second

Temple Period

Look at how enormous the

stones of the master course are

The stones are held together

without the use of mortar

The largest stone of the master

course is 13.6 m x 4.5 m x 3.5

m and weighs 570 tons

This portion of the Western

Wall was built by Herod

around 19 BCE

Hadrian converted Herod’s moat & pool into a market place

Inside the tunnels, you can see many other things: a synagogue at the

entrance gate to the Temple Mount, a 14th century medieval cistern, a

Hasmonean cistern & water tunnel, a Second Temple period street,

quarry, & dam, & many other interesting sights

We emerge out of the tunnels

into the bright sunlight of the

Via Dolorosa

From here, we can see the

remains of the triumphal arch

erected under Hadrian (135

CE) to celebrate the capture of

Jerusalem

The left arch, which no longer

exists

The right arch is still

preserved today inside the

Church of the Sisters of Zion