The Western Wall

Yesterday at sundown I went with our whole group to the Western Wall, the site most sacred to Jews. The Western Wall is what is left of the walls surrounding the ancient temple. It is the closest the Jews can go to the temple mount, which they will not walk on for fear of desecrating something holy. So instead, they pray and read scriptures at the Western Wall every day, but especially on Fridays at sundown when they are ushering in the Sabbath (Shabbat). Some of them write down their prayers and place them in the cracks in the wall. The cracks are packed tight with these written prayers. The most common prayer is that the Jews will be able to rebuild their temple on the temple mount.

It was a special experience to touch the wall with a crowd of devoted Jewish women as we welcomed in the Sabbath. Some of them would rock back and forth as an outward manifestation of praying with all their heart, might, mind, and strength.

Sometimes I think that, as a Latter-day Saint, I think of the Sabbath as the day I have to go to church and meetings and stay inside. But, as the orthodox Jews understand, the Sabbath is so much more than that. It is a holy day that should be gladly welcomed in, because it is a day during which we can take refuge from an often troubling world and worship the Lord.

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We weren't allowed to take pictures on the Sabbath, but here are some pictures I took of the Western Wall earlier in the week. It was much more crowded when we were there Friday night. This is the men's side. The women's side is to the right.