I can’t remember exactly where and when I first learned about the Wailing Wall. I’m sure it was sometime during my childhood. Being an earnest reader of history books, I came across the fascinating account of Israel, from its birth as a nation in 1948 to the Israeli-Arab Wars and going back to its ancient times. Early on, I was already made aware of its significance as one of the leading emblems of Judaism, and that it also plays an integral role in other religions such as Christianity and Islam.
Reciting a Brief Prayer at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem
According to Islamic traditions, it is at the Western Wall where the Prophet Muhammad tied his winged steed, Al-Buraq—an Islamic creature that transports prophets—as he was in the middle of his Night Journey (Isrāʾ and Miʿraj) in 621 CE. During the fourth century, when Jerusalem came under Christian rule, the Western Wall was treated with reverence because of its close proximity to the Temple Mount and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
The Western Wall, Not the Wailing Wall
While it is more popularly known among non-Jews as the Wailing Wall, the long-standing term for the place is actually the Western Wall, or the ha-kotel ha-ma'aravi. The term "Wailing Wall" originated only in the early twentieth century when the British started using the term after their conquest of Jerusalem.
A possible explanation for this goes back to describing the practice of Jews gathering near this part of Old Jerusalem's wall to weep over the destruction of their temples during the Byzantine Empire.
The Holiest Place of Prayer
Located inside Old Jerusalem (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), it was first built in nineteen BCE and measures one thousand six hundred one feet in length and sixty-two feet in height. The first seven layers of the Western Wall were made from meleke limestone and date back to the reign of Herod the Great—making them the exact same set of stones Jesus laid eyes upon during his time.
The wall became a witness to a tumultuous number of centuries when the city of Jerusalem fell into the hands of a myriad of rulers under the Christians, the Muslims, and back to the Jews, interchanging empires from the Byzantine, Mamluk, and Ottoman periods to the British Empire and even under Jordanian rule.
Leaving a Prayer Behind
We visited the Western Wall at the tail end of our Holy Land tour. It was a beautiful day when the sun was shining brightly but not too hot. As is customary practice, men and women are allotted separate partitions of the wall to pray. I walked toward the male section and joined dozens of Jews in dark suits to pray. At first, I felt hesitant, fearing I might intrude on their space of prayer. A bearded Jewish man might have sensed my apprehension, so he motioned for me to approach the wall.
I did. Being up against the wall and finally holding a block of meleke limestone, I immediately got lost in my own prayer. Feeling a little emotional, the moment tugged at my heartstrings as the significance of being in such a historical and spiritual place clad me wholly over.
Many people who pray at the wall write their prayers on a small piece of paper before inserting them through the gaps in the wall. This is a practice that originated in the early eighteenth century and is influenced by the Jewish belief that the Divine Presence resides in the Western Wall. Several times a year, these notes are removed and buried in the soils of the Mount of Olives. Unfortunately, I forgot a pen and paper, so I was unable to leave a note.
After finishing my prayer, I touched the wall one last time. As a gesture of gratitude, I recognized the ripples it created throughout its long-storied history that resulted in innumerable answered prayers—which, hopefully, would include my own.
I wondered if I had prayed before about visiting the Holy Land. I could not remember. Either way, I expressed gratitude to the Western Wall for whatever higher power conspired with good karma to bring me there.
