I’m taking a breather from cramming for tomorrow’s exam, to write about a little something I read up on a few days ago. If you are reading this, probably you’re clearing your head too. So, tell me, how many of you have heard of ‘The Wailing Wall’? Not many, eh?
Why am I thinking about the ‘The Wailing Wall’ right now, you ask? Well, ‘wailing’ and banging my head against a ‘wall’ are a little on my mind right now, so that may explain it…Anyway, back to the subject at hand.
The Wailing Wall, an actual wall, standing in the old city of Jerusalem, is a sacred structure to Jews due to its connections to the Temple Mount which was identified as Mount Zion during the time when the Hebrew Bible was written. According to the bible, both the Jewish Temples (First and Second) stood on the Temple Mount.
However, the Mount was destroyed by the Romans in a Six-Day War in 1967. The Wailing Wall is the only remains of the Temple Mount, which is why this wall is the holiest place for all Jews. During my research on this topic, I found one interesting fact about this holy wall. The Jews and all the other people around the world, between the cracks of the wall, write their wishes, whatever they want from God, and stick the piece of paper into the cracks of the wall. The Rabbis (high priests in Jewish culture) receive many letters through e-mail, fax, and other mediums from people who cannot visit and they write the requests on pieces of paper and slide them in between the cracks!
I know you are wondering if the cracks ever go empty? Yes. According to the Jewish laws, these prayer notes, regardless of religion and language, must not be thrown away. So, twice a year, Rabbi Rabinovitch and his assistants collect the notes from the wall and bury them in the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives.
Religions are fascinating, aren’t they?
Hope you had fun reading this and learned something new. Go, study for tomorrow’s exam, now. All the best.
