The Western Wall

I am always fascinated by this site. It is so noisy and chaotic, and yet to many Jews is a sacred and holy place where they come to pray and in some way commune with the Spirit. Jews don't think the wall itself is holy but since Othodox Jews feel they can't go on the temple mount because the priesthood was lost, this wall is the closest thing to the temple they have. At the Western Wall today men and women are kept separate, just as they were in ancient temple practices. There is a wall that runs perpendicular to the Western Wall to separate the sexes. The men's side is much larger and there were many more men there than women.

We were lucky to see several Bar Mitzvahs happening while we were there. Even at the Bar Mitzvahs the men and women are separated. On one side you could see the young boy and his father and other family and friends right up by the wall separating the women. The women of the family would be just over the wall standing on plastic chairs so they could watch the ceremony and take pictures. It was fun for me to watch over the wall too, but I didn't stay long since there were only so many chairs and it seemed like the family members and friends of those boys should be the ones able to watch.

Up at the Western Wall itself you could see lots of religious Jews praying and chanting. Some were sitting and rocking while they prayed. Others were standing and quite loud in whatever it was they were saying. There were some who walked backwards away from the wall when leaving because the site is so sacred to them they consider it offensive to turn their back on it. It is also common for people to write down prayers and then fold up the paper very small and squish it in the cracks between the blocks. My boss is Jewish so I wrote a prayer and put it in the wall for her. I'm not sure exactly what it means to them but it seemed like the thing to do.

Over on Jerel's side they got to go right up where the Bar Mitzvahs were happening. Jerel was stopped by a guy who offered to give him a special blessing but then indicated he would expect to be paid for such a blessing. It was just such an interesting place. In some ways it made me think that the Jews really have so much truth; at the same time it was a little sad to see how much is missing from their religion. It makes you want to stand up on the wall and tell them all that they don't have to wait for Jesus anymore because He's already come. Still, I am quite impressed with their dedication to their religion and the integrity with which they live their lives.