Placing a note on the Western Wall refers to the practice of placing a piece of paper containing written prayers to God into the cracks of the Western Wall, a Jewish holy site in the Old City of Jerusalem.
It is said that the occurrence of such phenomena originated in the early 18th century and derived from the Jewish tradition that the Divine Presence rests on the Western Wall. But there is a dispute over whether it is permissible under Jewish law to insert a piece of paper into the cracks. Some argue that the practice undermines the holiness of the Wall and that the placement of records should be stopped.
More than a million records are placed each year in what has become a habit, not just for tourists, but also for high-ranking officials who visit Israel from abroad. Records are collected twice a year and are buried in the nearby Mount of Olives.
Video Placing notes in the Western Wall
History
The earliest records of the prayer record placed in the crevices and crevices of the Western Wall were told by Rabbi Chaim Elazar Spira of Munkatch (died 1937) and involved Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar (died 1743) who instructed a poor man to put amulets among the rocks of the Wall.
The reasoning behind putting a record of prayer on the Wall has been traced to the teachings of the Midrashic that the Divine Presence never moved from the Western Wall, and the Kabbalistic teachings that all prayer ascend to Heaven through the Temple Mount, which is the Western Wall is bordered.
Modern practices
Today, more than a million records of prayer or desire are placed on the Western Wall every year. Notes placed on the Wall are written just about any language and format. The length varies from a few words to a very long request. They include poetry and Bible verses. They are written on various papers, including colored paper, notebook paper and even gum wrappers, using ink.
Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, Rabbi of the Western Wall, received hundreds of letters addressed to "God, Jerusalem" every year, ""; he folded these letters and placed them also on the Walls.
The online service offers applicants the opportunity to send their notes to the Western Wall via e-mail, fax, text messages, and the Internet; the note is then printed and inserted into the Wall. The Israeli Telephone Company has established such fax services, as it has a number of charity websites.
Maps Placing notes in the Western Wall
Disposal of note
According to Jewish law, the record of prayer may not be discarded; there is a difference of opinion whether they should be burned or buried. According to Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, Rabbi Wall West and writer of Minhagei HaKotel, a book on halakhot about the Western Wall, arson is a "pure" way of handling records, but burying it more honorably. Rabinovitch further stated that the letters were buried because they had the status of a letter to God. Twice a year, Rabinovitch and his assistants collect the remaining notes on the Wall and buried them in the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives.
Famous people who have placed notes on Walls
The tradition of leaving a record for God on the Western Wall has also been adopted by Christian pilgrims and people of other faiths. Foreign officials who openly place messages on the Western Wall include Pope John Paul II (2000), Pope Benedict XVI (in 2008) and Pope Benedict XVI, again in 2009, releasing their contents to the media.
US Senator Hillary Clinton sent a note in 2005. In July 2008, US presidential candidate Barack Obama placed a written prayer on the Wall. After Obama and his entourage left, his notes - written on the hotel stationery - were removed from the Wall by a seminary student who sold them to Maariv newspaper. The newspaper published the note, sparking criticism from other news sources and from the Western Wall Rabbis for violating the privacy attached to the records placed on the Wall. In July 2012, US presidential candidate Mitt Romney placed a written prayer on the Wall. His records were then moved to a different location on Wall for privacy reasons and to avoid a repeat of an incident with Obama's record in 2008.
On May 22, 2017, Donald Trump became the first US President to visit the Wall; he also put a note. Trump vice president Mike Pence visited the Wall and placed a prayer note on January 23, 2018, at the end of his four-day visit to Israel.
See also
- Kvitel
References
External links
- "Ask the Rabbi: Write on the Wall"
- Place a note on Aish HaTorah's wall
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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