The Western wall is located on the western side of the temple mount, in the heart of old Jerusalem. It is approached from the Jewish quarter, and the closest gate is Ha Ashpoth (Dung) gate.
The Western Wall is open to the public 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The Western Wall is open to the public 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The Western wall is a remnant of Herod's grand temple, and is the most holiest site for Jews. It attracts thousands of Jewish worshippers daily, who come to pray and lay out their problems and seek for heavenly guidance. They feel the presence of God's spirit, who according to their belief resides for thousands of years in the holy temple.
The entrance to the wall
The wall during 1870
The weeds that grow between the cracks are sacred and should not be picked off the wall, unless used for "medical" purposes. For example, some women used in the 19th C to boil the leaves and drink the soup in the hope of getting pregnant.
The huge, lower stones (ashlars) of the wall are from the time of Herod, while those higher up date from Omayyad and Fatimid times. The sides of the Herodian monumental ashlars have been carved with such precision that they rest perfectly against and on top of each other, without mortar. Over the centuries, the fine straight lines and margins of some of the ashlars have eroded away.
For centuries, the Western Wall was located in a narrow alley just 12 feet wide that could accommodate only a few hundred densely packed worshipers. But in 1967, immediately after the Six Day War, Israelis leveled the neighboring Arab district to create the Western Wall Plaza, which can accommodate tens of thousands of pilgrims.
At the same time, the Israelis made the wall about 6 1/2 feet 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.
The area is divided to 4 sections: a large open zone on the western side, a small section for women on the south side of the wall (there is segregation due to religious requirements), a larger section of the wall in the center for men, and a covered place in the northern side.
The lower cracks of the chalky, yellow-white blocks have been stuffed with bits of paper containing written prayers. Orthodox Jews can be seen standing at the wall, chanting and swaying. Some Jews visit the wall daily to recite the entire Book of Psalms .I recited Psalm 139 and prayed (poured out) to the God of Abraham , Isaac and Jacob and the father of our LORD JESUS CHRIST
I could sense the Divine Presence and feel a great burden being lifted up / removed.
In addition to the daily and Sabbath prayer services, special events like Bar and Bat Mitzvah are also celebrated at the Western Wall
The men's prayer area continues from the outdoor section through a passageway to the north. Within this area is a massive arch originally constructed by Herod and now known after a British explorer in the 1860s. .
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