The Wailing Wall

The Wailing Wall is the most significant site in the world for Jewish people. Jews travel from around the globe to pray and write notes to God which they place in the cracks of the walls. On a regular basis, the notes are removed and ceremoniously buried. When we arrived, we could see that many young men were having their Bar Mitzvahs. In Jewish law, boys are no longer considered children when they reach 13, and must start fulfilling commandments of the Torah, known as "mitzvahs." Bar and Bat Mitzvah mean “son and daughter of the commandment.” The word, "bar," is the Aramaic equivalent of the son of the Hebrew and “bat” is Hebrew. A boy is referred to as a “bar mitzvah” and a girl as a “bat mitzvah" and this takes place at the age of 13 for boys and 12 for girls. It also recognizes the rite of passage into adulthood.

According to Jewish lore, Moses gave the first parts of the Torah, the books of Genesis and part of Exodus, to the Jewish people and then climbed Mount Sinai. He received the Torah directly from God over a period of 40 days. Archivists have discovered almost all parts of the Torah in the Dead Sea Scrolls, some of which, such as the Leviticus Scroll, are named for the portion of the Torah they contain. In the year 37 BCE, Herod was appointed King in Jerusalem and he soon initiated a huge renovation project for the Temple. He hired many workers to make the Temple more magnificent and to widen the area of the Temple Mount by flattening the mountain peak and building four support walls around it. The Western Wall is the western support wall built during this widening of the Temple Mount Plaza. What makes the Western Wall the most special is its proximity to the location of the "Holy of Holies" and therefore became a place of prayer and yearning for Jews around the world. Before people pray at the wall, they wash their hands at a fountain.

Men and women do not pray together and are separated by a dividing wall.

The most interesting part of our experience at the wall was to watch several Bar Mitzvahs in process. It starts with three knocks at the door where the Torah is encased.

We were very curious when seeing straps (tefillin) being wrapped around the arms and boxes to the forehead of those having their Bar Mitzvahs. The Torah commands adult Jewish men to bind the tefillin onto the head and upper arm with leather straps in fulfillment of the verse, "You shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they should be for a reminder between your eyes" (Deuteronomy 6:8). These are worn close to the heart as a reminder that men must harness their intellect, emotions and actions in the service of God. Jews have lovingly and devotedly performed this mitzvah the same way for over 3,000 years.

 
We have so much to learn from other religions and in so doing become better people. We look forward to experiences each new day brings while we live in this wonderful country.

Regardless of our individual religious preferences, may we learn from our Jewish brothers and sisters. Begin each day in prayer by connecting our head, our heart, and our hands to work in harmony in a single, coordinated purpose as we greet the world.