June 26, 2026 Categories: Inspiration from Zion: This is a Love Story
Inspiration from Zion:
{Originally posted to the website Inspiration from Zion}
There are many misconceptions about the Temple Mount, the Kotel and the Al Aqsa mosque. Confusion and even much conflict can be dispelled when the facts are made clear!
Here are 8 things you need to know about the holiest site on earth for the Jewish people:
1. What is the holiest site on earth for Jews?
Did you answer, “the Kotel”? If you did, that’s a mistake many people sadly make! Kotel literally means Wall in Hebrew. This wall is so important that it became unnecessary to designate which wall it is, it’s THE Wall. At the same time, it’s importance is not in itself but in its proximity to what is really important – The Temple Mount. The holiest site on earth for the Jewish people is the Temple Mount, in the heart of Jerusalem.2. Why is the Temple Mount holy to the Jewish people?
It is written: As the navel is set in the centre of the human body, so is the land of Israel the navel of the world… situated in the centre of the world, and Jerusalem in the centre of the land of Israel, and the sanctuary in the centre of Jerusalem, and the holy place in the centre of the sanctuary, and the ark in the centre of the holy place, and the Foundation Stone before the holy place, because from it the world was founded. (Roman-Era Midrash Tanchuma) It is believed that the Foundation Stone is the foundation God used to create the world. Around this stone the Temple was built and within the Temple, on the Foundation Stone, the Ark of the Covenant was placed. This is the source of the holiness of the Temple and its importance to Judaism. Jewish sources also identify this rock as the place of the Binding of Isaac mentioned in the Bible, where Abraham fulfilled God’s test to see if he would be willing to sacrifice his son. It was at that point where human sacrifice to God ceased to exist as a legitimate practice and, even before the 10 Commandments, Judaism took moral leadership in the world.3. Does one say Kotel, Wailing Wall or Western Wall?
“Wailing Wall” is a commonly used, highly offensive term which is an ancient form of delegitimizing Jewish history by diminishing Jewish anguish at the loss of the ancient Jewish Temple, destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. This is the term of non-Jews who occupied Israel, ridiculing the pain of the Jews who stood weeping at the Kotel, the Western Wall, which is the only wall left standing of the ancient Temple in the heart of Jerusalem. (It’s not even a wall of the Temple structure itself, it is a retaining wall of the compound). During the period of Christian Roman rule over Jerusalem (ca. 324–638), Jews were completely barred from Jerusalem except to attend Tisha B’Av, the day of national mourning for the first and second Temples, and on this day the Jews would weep at the holy site. The term “Wailing Wall” was thus almost exclusively used by Christians and was revived in the period of non-Jewish control between the establishment of British Rule in 1920 and the Six-Day War in 1967. This derogatory term mocks the pain of the Jewish people, as in “there go those Jews, weeping again.” Kotel is the word used in Hebrew which simply means “Wall”. The choice of this term is indicative of the importance of the structure in the Jewish mind – this one remaining wall is so significant that it is not necessary to detail which wall is being mentioned, it is THE Wall. It is not the Wall itself that is holy, it was the Temple and what stood on the Mount that was holy. 2000 years, exile and many terrible experiences along the way, have not been enough to make the Jewish people forget the importance of the Temple. The Wall has grown in significance because it is all that remains of the Temple and because Jews were (and still are) denied the right to pray on the Temple Mount. The Kotel became precious because it was the closest Jews could get to the holiest site on earth for the Jewish People. “Western Wall” is a factual description of the Wall. The Kotel is the western retaining wall of the Temple and it is perfectly reasonable to describe it as such.4. Did you know there is an egalitarian prayer section of the Kotel (Ezrat Yisrael)?
Ezrat Yisrael was opened to balance the needs of different Jews who want to pray differently, enabling all freedom to worship as they please without bothering those who are offended by different prayer choices. The egalitarian section is open all hours of the day and night, just like the better known traditional section. Men and women are free to pray together. Women are free to sing as loudly as they wish and read from the Torah should they choose to do so. Unlike in the traditional section of the Kotel, in Ezrat Yisrael there are tables with sunshades so people can read from the Torah without having to stand in the sweltering sun. An added bonus is that Ezrat Yisrael is in the middle of an archeological site where you can see Temple era remnants, making it easier to imagine yourself back in the time when the Temple was still standing! Did you know that most of the Kotel is underground and accessible only through the Kotel tunnels? Over the centuries, natural buildup of archeological layers buried a much of the Kotel. Excavations have given insight into the splendor of the building project of the ancient Jewish Temple. Inside the tunnels you can walk alongside the Kotel, marvel at the size of the sounds from which the wall is built and even enter what was once an open-air street market that is now completely underground! At one point in the tunnels you will probably see women praying at the place which is directly across from the Foundation Stone – one would only have to walk through the wall to get to it.
Excavations are ongoing and the more work that is done the more of our ancient past is uncovered. If you are in Jerusalem, don’t miss a tour of the tunnels!
