Western Wall staff carefully removed prayer notes on Sunday from the crevices between the ancient stones, in advance of Rosh Hashana 5784, which begins this coming Friday evening.
The removal of the notes is carried out every half-year in accordance with halakhic instructions and using gloves and disposable wooden tools, with the goal of making space for new notes from tourists and visitors expected to arrive in Jerusalem in the coming months.
The notes are collected in bags and buried together with worn sacred books in a place specifically designated for this purpose, “Geniza”. The rabbi of the Western Wall and the holy sites, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, accompanied the removal personally and recited a prayer for the unity of the Jewish people and for the thousands of visitors who placed their prayers between the stones.
