Almost every inhabitant of the earth has heard of such a beautiful and divine city like Jerusalem. Believers from all over the world strive to get there to pray, be cleansed, and lean against the great wall of wailing.
The story of the wailing wall
Distant millennia ago, the Wailing Wall was conceived as a protection and support for the central temple in Jerusalem. King Herod ordered to build such a large-scale structure. The Wailing Wall was built of many stones that were previously smoothly hewn. They were laid without the aid of a bonding agent.
It was real hard work. The masonry stones were sometimes huge. The weight of each stone reached about a couple of tons. Their height was 1-1.2 m, and the length ranged from 1.5 to 12 m. According to historians and archaeologists, the length of the structure was 488 m. Only a small fragment is visible to the audience today, because part of the wall is hidden behind other buildings, and the lower part of it is covered with a mound.
What the wailing wall symbolizes
Until the 16th century, almost no one paid attention to this part of the wall. There were no believers or tourists here. It was just a part that remained from the destroyed Jerusalem temple. Merchants stood near the wall, and the population preferred to pray in the eastern and southern parts of the city. There were rich and lush walls on that side.
And only in the 16th century, the wailing wall found its true purpose. It became a place of prayer for the Jewish people, who at that time fell under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. According to Jewish tradition, it was necessary 3 times a year to come to this part of the wall and offer prayer. This tradition has survived to this day.
For all believers, the wailing wall symbolizes hope for a better, freedom, faith in a wonderful future, cleansing from sins. This is a holy place where everyone can come and be alone with God. The only thing is to observe the traditions of the ancestors. It is necessary to approach the wall in modest clothes and with a covered head. At the same time, women and men offer prayers separately from each other.
About 300 years ago, another tradition was born, associated with the wailing wall. Believers began to place notes with desires and an appeal to God between her stones and in the cracks. Every year, more than a million letters from believers and tourists are placed in the wailing wall. So that everyone can leave notes, Rabbi Rabinovich, together with his assistant, collects all the letters twice a year and buries them in the Jewish cemetery.
The Wailing Wall is now recognized as a holy place for the Jewish people. Jews from all over the world come to Jerusalem to pray at the shrine.
