Western Wall

The Western Wall (Hebrew: הכותל המערבי, translit.: HaKotel HaMa'aravi), or simply The Kotel, is a retaining wall in Jerusalem that dates from the time of the Jewish Second Temple. It is sometimes referred to as the Wailing Wall, or as the al-Buraq Wall, in a mix of English and Arabic. It should be noted that the term "Wailing Wall" is derogatory, as implicit in the phrase is the image of Jews wailing and moaning over the hardships they have endured. The Temple was the most sacred building in Judaism. Herod the Great built vast retaining walls around Mount Moriah, expanding the small, quasi-natural plateau on which the First and Second Temples stood into the wide open spaces of the Temple Mount seen today.

In recent centuries, Jews were allowed little or no access to the site, such as when Turkey (the Ottoman Empire) ruled over it for 400 years (1515-1917), followed by the British Mandate of Palestine (1917-1948) and the Jordanian rule of Jerusalem (1948-1967). Only when the Israel Defense Forces won a victory in the 1967 Six Day War were Jews finally able to gain free access to the site.

History

The First Temple or Solomon's Temple was built in the 10th century BC. It was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC, the Second Temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire in AD 70 as a result of the First Jewish-Roman War. Each Temple stood for a period of about four centuries.

According to Judaism's religious texts, when the legions of Titus destroyed the Temple, only a part of an outer court-yard "western wall" remained standing. Jewish texts teach that Titus left it as a bitter reminder to the Jews that Rome had vanquished Judea. The Jews, however, attributed it to a promise made by God that some part of the holy Temple would be left standing as a sign of God's unbroken bond with the Jewish people in spite of the catastrophes which had befallen them.

Eyewitness accounts of Roman actions

Now as soon as the army had no more people to slay or to plunder, because there remained none to be the objects of their fury (for they would not have spared any, had there remained any other work to be done), Caesar gave orders that they should now demolish the entire city and Temple, but should leave as many of the towers standing as were of the greatest eminence; that is, Phasaelus, and Hippicus, and Mariamne; and so much of the wall as enclosed the city on the west side. This wall was spared, in order to afford a camp for such as were to lie in garrison three forts also spared, in order to demonstrate to posterity what kind of city it was, and how well fortified, which the Roman valor had subdued; but for all the rest of the wall Jerusalem, it was so thoroughly laid even with the ground by those that dug it up to the foundation, that there was left nothing to make those that came thither believe it [Jerusalem" target="_blank" >^* had ever been inhabited. This was the end which Jerusalem came to by the madness of those that were for innovations; a city otherwise of great magnificence, and of mighty fame among all mankind.

And truly, the very view itself was a melancholy thing; for those places which were adorned with trees and pleasant gardens, were now become desolate country every way, and its trees were all cut down. Nor could any foreigner that had formerly seen Judaea and the most beautiful suburbs of the city, and now saw it as a desert, but lament and mourn sadly at so great a change. For the war had laid all signs of beauty quite waste. Nor had anyone who had known the place before, had come on a sudden to it now, would he have known it again. But though he foreigner were at the city itself, yet would he have inquired for it.

...the Romans set fire to the extreme parts of the city suburbs and burnt them down, and entirely demolished ^* walls.

When entirely demolished the rest of the city, and overthrew its walls, he left [three towers as a monument of his good fortune, which had proved destructive power of his auxiliaries, and enabled him to take what could not otherwise have been taken by him. Josephus

And where is now that great city, the metropolis of the Jewish nation, which was fortified by so many walls round about, which had so many fortresses and large towers to defend it, which could hardly contain the instruments prepared for the war, and which had so many ten thousands of men to fight for it? Where is this city that was believed to have God himself inhabiting therein? it is now demolished to the very foundations, and hath nothing left but that monument of it preserved, I mean the camp of those that hath destroyed it, which still dwells upon its ruins; some unfortunate old men also lie ashes upon the Temple, and a few women are there preserved alive by the enemy, for our bitter shame and reproach.... I cannot but wish that we had all died before we had seen that holy city demolished by the hands of our enemies, or the foundations of our Holy Temple dug up, after so profane a manner. Eleazar at Masada, as reported by Josephus

Venerated by the Jews

Jews have prayed at the Western Wall for two thousand years, believing that that spot has greater holiness than any other accessible place on Earth, or the fourth holiest overall, after the Holy of Holies, the rest of the Temple area, and the Courtyard, and that God is nearby listening to their prayers. The tradition of placing prayer written on the small piece of paper into a crack in the Wall goes back thousands of years. Included in the thrice daily Jewish prayers are fervent pleas that God return to the Land of Israel, ingather all the Jewish exiles, rebuild the Third Temple, and bring the messianic era with the arrival of Jewish Messiah (Mashiach).

The Western Wall is holy to the Jewish people because this wall is part of a wall that encompasses the Temple Mount along with the southern and eastern sections. This encompassing wall is thought to be the only remnant of the Temple in Jerusalem and the closest site to the "Holy of Holies", the most holy site in Judaism. Of the three wall sections, eastern, southern and western, the western is the traditional site of prayer.

Restricted holy areas

According to many rabbis, Jews are forbidden to enter certain areas, or courts, of the Temple Mount according to Jewish law. These areas are defined differently by different rabbinic authorities, nonetheless all agree that the entrance into the area occupied by the Dome of The Rock, is forbidden. That same area was once occupied by the Temple which was a biblically designated holy place.

The rock beneath the Dome of The Rock, is considered by some rabbinic midrashic texts to be the foundation from which God created the universe. According to some rabbinic works, this rock was where the Biblical patriarch Isaac was bound by Abraham during his near-sacrifice in the binding of Isaac. This area was held to be where the patriarch Jacob slept and dreamt of a ladder going up to heaven with angels going up and down. ^* Genesis 28 This spot is identified with the Holy Of Holies.

During the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah, only certain people, such as the priests, were permitted into the Temple's grounds. The Temple complex consisted of distinct areas each with its own level of holiness. The most holy area, the Holy Of Holies (Kodesh Hakodashim), the central part of the Temple was entered only once a year on Yom Kippur and only by the High Priest. Other courts were accessible only to members of the priestly family, the Kohanim. Other areas, further from the Holy of Holies were accessible to the Levi'im. Further out were courts accessible to all Jews, and outermost courts were accesible to Gentiles (non-jews).

During subsequent occupations

During the time that foreign armies occupied the lands of Judea and the Land of Israel, the Western Wall always remained a site venerated by Jews; many trekked from across the world to spend their last years near the walls of Jerusalem, spending much of their time in tearful prayer in front of the Western Wall; non-Jewish observers watching the Jews cry there (mourning the destruction of the Temple) gave the site its popular, but incorrect name, the Wailing Wall.

The Wall as viewed by Muslims

The site is also holy to Muslims, who believe Solomon to be a prophet. Muslims believe that Muhammad made a spiritual journey to Jerusalem in 620 CE on a winged horse named al-Buraq, which is referred to as Isra and Mi'raj . While there, it is believed he tethered the horse to a wall, which some Muslims believe to be the Western wall. Hence the Arabic name for the wall is the al-Buraq Wall. To commemorate the same belief, in 687 AD Muslims built the Dome of the Rock and the nearby Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount, encompassed by the wall.

Ottoman control

By 1517 Islamic Ottoman Empire under Selim I took the land of what was once ancient Israel and Judea from the Egyptian Mamelukes (1250-1517). Turkey had a benevolent attitude towards the Jews, having welcomed thousands of Jewish refugees who had recently been expelled from Spain by Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella of Castile in 1492. The Turkish Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, was so taken with Jerusalem and its plight that he ordered a magnificent, surrounding, fortress-wall built around the entire city (which was not that large at that time.) This wall still stands and can be seen today.

Under the British

Following Britain's victories during the Sinai and Palestine Campaigns under Field Marshal Edmund Allenby, the British took control of the land in 1917. Jews were allowed to stand at the wall and pray.

The Arab riots in Palestine of 1929 broke out partly because the Arabs claimed variously that the Jews were trying to build a synagogue near the wall or take over the site. In 1931 the British government issued a document affirming Muslim property rights to the wall and placing restrictions on Jewish observance.

Jordanian rule

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the area near the wall was taken over by the Jordanian Arab Legion. Jews were denied access to the wall, in violation of the 1949 armistice agreement, and buildings were constructed within a few meters of the wall. During the 1967 Six Day War, Israel defeated the Jordanian army in Jerusalem with fierce fighting. Jordan lost the wall and it came under Jewish control for the first time in 2,000 years.

Israel since 1967

Following the victory of the Israel Defense Forces during the 1967 Six-Day War, the Western Wall, together with all of Jerusalem and the West Bank came under Israeli control. The Israelis demolished the medieval Moroccan Quarter in front of the Western Wall facing away from the Temple Mount, and built a large plaza in its place which is used by tens of thousands of Jews on the Jewish holidays, and is a favorite tourist attraction year round.

Many foreign heads of state who visit Israel, come to the Wall, out of their respect for its significance to Israel and to Jews worldwide. The Western Wall continues to have a powerful hold on the devotion of Jews all over the world. Over the decades, millions have come as tourists and pilgrims to be able to touch the Wall with their hands and feel the sanctity that emanates from it.

Since 1967, it has been customary among many Jews throughout the world to hold their Bar Mitzvah services at the Western Wall.

Recent damage to plaza

On February 16, 2004, a portion of a stone retaining wall that forms one side of the Western Wall Plaza and supports the ramp that leads from the Western Wall plaza to the Gate of the Moors (Hebrew Sha'ar HaMughrabim, Arabic Bab al-Maghariba) and on the Temple Mount collapsed. On-the-Spot Report from the Kotel Women´s Section Construction (Arutz Sheva) February 16, 2004
On March 30, 2005, The wall was found to have been the target of vandals. The word "Allah" in half-meter tall Arabic script was found newly etched into the eastern wall of Jerusalem's Temple Mount. The word was discovered on a section of the 2,000 year old wall and the vandalism was attributed to a team of Jordanian engineers and Palestinian laborers in charge of repairing that section of the wall.

References

External links

Resources > Jerusalem Project of the Dinur Center for Research in Jewish History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Researching the Jerusalem Temple Mount
History of the Western Wall
Placing notes between the stones of the Western Wall
Accommodation at the Wall
Center for Jerusalem Studies
"Western Wall" or "Wailing Wall"?
Inscription on a Course of the Western Wall
Egyptian writer says Muhammad's night trip was to Medina, not Jerusalem
The Temple Mount and Fort Antonia
The Wailing Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem at GoSleepGo

Live cameras, movies, and photographs

Live 24 hr camera (click on webcam and live cameras)
Live view of the Wall, refreshed every 20 minutes
360 degree dynamic panorama of The Wall (QuickTime movie format)
Part of the wall in 3D (in gallery set 3)
The Western Wall- Photos
Jerusalem Photo Portal- Western Wall
Liberation of the Temple Mount and Western Wall by Israel Defense Forces - Historic Live Broadcast on Voice of Israel Radio, June 7th, 1967

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