What is the Western Wall?

Summary

The Western Wall, a sacred Jewish site in Jerusalem, is explored in this script, detailing its history as part of the Temple Mount platform built by King Herod. The wall's layers reveal historical periods, from Herodian to Umayyad and later Islamic eras. It's a place of prayer and pilgrimage, with a significant history of Jewish devotion and modern conflicts over religious practices. The wall's transformation from a narrow alley to an open plaza after the Six-Day War and its role as a site for prayer notes highlight its enduring spiritual significance.

Takeaways

• 📜 The Western Wall, also known as the Kotel in Hebrew, is a significant Jewish sacred site located in the Old City of Jerusalem.
• 🏗️ Named for being part of the Western retaining wall of the Temple Mount, it was constructed during King Herod the Great's renovation of the Second Jewish Temple in 1st century BCE.
• 🔨 The wall's construction involved flattening Mount Moriah and building subterranean arches to support the platform, reflecting the ambitious nature of the project.
• 🗿 The Western Wall is a historical 'layer cake' with visible Herodian era blocks at the bottom, followed by Umayyad period blocks, and smaller stones from later Islamic periods.
• 🌐 The entire Western Wall extends for almost 500 meters, with parts of it being underground due to the difference in ancient and current street levels.
• 📜 Jews gather at the Western Wall due to its proximity to the Holy of Holies, considered the holiest site for Jews and the dwelling place of God's presence.
• 🕍 The Western Wall became the closest accessible site to the Holy of Holies after the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 CE.
• 📜 The tradition of praying at the Western Wall likely predates the 16th century, with early Christian sources mentioning Jewish prayers around the Temple ruins.
• 🕋 The Western Wall's significance is further highlighted by the construction of the Dome of the Rock by the Muslim Umayyad dynasty over the former Jewish temple site.
• 🏙️ The current open layout of the Western Wall plaza was created after the Six-Day War in 1967, which involved the controversial leveling of the Moroccan Quarter.
• 📖 Prayer notes are a popular practice at the wall, with the Kotel Heritage Foundation offering online prayer submission and physical placement by others.

Q & A

What is the Western Wall and why is it significant to Judaism?

The Western Wall, also known as the Kotel in Hebrew, is a segment of the Western retaining wall of the Temple Mount platform in Jerusalem. It is significant to Judaism as it is the closest accessible point to the Holy of Holies, the holiest site for Jews, where God's presence is believed to dwell.

When was the Western Wall constructed and by whom?

The Western Wall was constructed under the reign of King Herod the Great during the 1st century BCE as part of an ambitious project to renovate the Second Jewish Temple.

What is the historical significance of the Temple Mount platform?

The Temple Mount platform is historically significant as it was built on Mount Moriah, the site of the creation of the world according to Jewish tradition, and where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac. It was also the location of the Second Jewish Temple before its destruction in 70 CE.

What architectural features can be seen in the Western Wall?

The Western Wall displays layers of history with Herodian era blocks at the bottom, followed by Umayyad period blocks from the 7th and 8th centuries, and smaller stones from later Islamic periods.

How long is the entire Western Wall and what parts of it are visible?

The entire Western Wall extends for almost 500 meters. However, only a small segment is commonly seen in pictures and accessible to the public, with a significant portion being underground due to the difference in ancient and current street levels.

What is the significance of the Western Wall tunnels?

The Western Wall tunnels provide access to parts of the wall that are not visible above ground and contain some of the largest stones in the wall. They also offer a closer proximity to the Holy of Holies and have become a popular place for prayer.

When did the tradition of praying at the Western Wall begin?

While the exact origin of the tradition is not known, it is believed to stretch back hundreds of years before the 16th century, when the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman officially permitted Jews to pray there.

How did the Western Wall's accessibility change after the Six-Day War in 1967?

After the Six-Day War in 1967, the Israeli army gained control of the Eastern part of Jerusalem from Jordan. In a controversial move, they leveled the Moroccan Quarter and displaced its residents, creating the open layout of the plaza that is seen today.

What are some of the religious practices observed at the Western Wall today?

Today, people visit the Western Wall to pray, read the Torah, celebrate Bar Mitzvahs, and place prayer notes between the cracks of the stone. The Kotel Heritage Foundation even allows for remote prayer note submissions.

What controversies surround the Western Wall regarding gender and religious practices?

The Western Wall is an open-air Orthodox synagogue with separate men and women's sections. Women's advocacy groups, such as Women of the Wall, have pushed for more egalitarian prayer practices, including women reading from Torah scrolls and wearing tefillin, which has sparked conflict with ultra-Orthodox Jews.

How are the prayer notes placed in the Western Wall treated and disposed of?

Prayer notes are removed from the wall twice a year and, as it is forbidden to destroy them, they are buried on the Mount of Olives in a manner similar to that of a damaged Torah scroll or prayer book.

Outlines

00:00

🕍 The Western Wall: A Sacred Jewish Site

The Western Wall, also known as the Kotel, is a significant Jewish sacred site located in Jerusalem's Old City. It is part of the Western retaining wall of the Temple Mount platform, built by King Herod the Great during the renovation of the second Jewish temple in 1st century BCE. The wall is a historical layer cake, showcasing Herodian era blocks, Umayyad period blocks from the 7th and 8th centuries, and stones from later Islamic periods. The entire wall stretches nearly 500 meters, with parts underground due to the current street level being higher than the ancient one. The Western Wall is revered for its proximity to the Holy of Holies, the holiest site for Jews, and has been a place of prayer since ancient times, with the tradition possibly dating back centuries before the 16th-century Ottoman edict allowing Jewish prayer. The wall has also been a site of conflict and change, especially after the Six-Day War in 1967, which led to the creation of the open plaza seen today.

05:01

📜 Controversies and Practices at the Western Wall

The Western Wall is not just a historical site but also a place of ongoing religious and social debates. Women of the Wall, an advocacy group, has pushed for more egalitarian prayer practices, challenging the Orthodox religious authorities' enforcement of separate men and women sections. This has led to conflicts with ultra-Orthodox Jews who oppose women reading from Torah scrolls or wearing ritual objects traditionally reserved for men. The Jerusalem Chief Rabbi has denounced these practices, and there have been incidents of disruption and protest. Despite these issues, the Western Wall remains a testament to the enduring nature of Jewish religious practice and the site's significance across different Jewish denominations. The wall is also a place where visitors can witness the diversity of Jewish practice and the layers of history etched into its stones, making it a powerful symbol of continuity amidst changing times.

Keywords

💡Western Wall

The Western Wall, also known as the Kotel in Hebrew, is a significant Jewish sacred site located in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is a remnant of the Western retaining wall of the Temple Mount platform, which was constructed under King Herod the Great during the renovation of the Second Jewish Temple in the 1st century BCE. The wall is a historical layer cake, showcasing different eras of construction from the Herodian period to later Islamic periods. The video emphasizes its importance as a place of prayer and pilgrimage for Jews, especially in proximity to the Holy of Holies, the holiest site in Judaism.

💡Temple Mount

The Temple Mount is a rectangular platform in Jerusalem that was the site of the First and Second Jewish Temples. It is a central theme in the video as it provides the historical context for the Western Wall. The platform was built by King Herod the Great to elevate the Second Temple, and the Western Wall is a part of its retaining wall. The Temple Mount is significant as it is believed to be the location where the world was created and where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac, according to Jewish tradition.

💡Herodian era

The Herodian era refers to the period during which King Herod the Great ruled and undertook significant construction projects, including the expansion of the Temple Mount. The video describes the Western Wall's base as having Herodian era blocks, which are the largest and oldest, indicating the wall's historical significance dating back to the 1st century BCE. These blocks are a testament to the wall's ancient origins and its role in the religious and cultural heritage of Jerusalem.

💡Umayyad period

The Umayyad period represents a later era of construction on the Western Wall, with blocks from the 7th and 8th centuries when the Islamic Umayyad dynasty ruled Jerusalem. The video mentions this period to illustrate the multi-layered history of the wall, showing how it has been modified and added to over centuries by different civilizations, reflecting the complex religious and cultural history of the region.

💡Holy of Holies

The Holy of Holies is the central area within the Jewish Temple, considered the holiest site in Judaism, where God's presence was believed to dwell. In the video, it is mentioned that the Western Wall is significant to Jews because of its proximity to this sacred site. The destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 CE made the Western Wall the closest accessible point to the Holy of Holies, making it a focal point for Jewish prayer and pilgrimage.

💡Dome of the Rock

The Dome of the Rock is a prominent Islamic shrine built over the spot that many archaeologists agree was the location of the Jewish Temple. The video script mentions the Dome of the Rock to highlight the shared religious significance of the Temple Mount for both Jews and Muslims. It also underscores the historical and religious complexity of the site, which is central to the narrative of the Western Wall.

💡Western Wall tunnels

The Western Wall tunnels are a series of underground tunnels that run alongside the Western Wall, revealing large stones and layers of history. The video mentions these tunnels as a place where visitors can see the largest stones of the wall and as an area where Jews can get slightly closer to the Holy of Holies. The tunnels are also a popular place for prayer and are part of ongoing archaeological excavations.

💡Patron

A patron, in the context of the video, refers to a supporter or benefactor, particularly those who contribute financially to the Foundation for Religious Literacy or the video creator's Patreon community. The script acknowledges the patrons for their support, indicating the collaborative nature of content creation and the importance of community engagement in producing educational content.

💡Bar Mitzvah

A Bar Mitzvah is a Jewish coming-of-age ceremony for boys when they turn 13, marking their entry into adulthood and the responsibilities of the Jewish community. The video mentions Bar Mitzvahs as one of the celebrations that take place at the Western Wall, illustrating the wall's role as a site for significant life events in the Jewish tradition.

💡Prayer notes

Prayer notes are pieces of paper with written prayers that visitors to the Western Wall often insert into the cracks of the stones. The video describes this as a popular devotional practice, showing the wall's ongoing role as a place of prayer and spiritual connection for Jews. The notes are later removed and buried with respect, similar to the treatment of a damaged Torah scroll or prayer book.

💡Orthodox synagogue

An Orthodox synagogue is a place of Jewish worship that adheres to traditional religious laws and practices. The video mentions that the area around the Western Wall is designated as an open-air Orthodox synagogue, with separate sections for men and women. This designation is significant as it influences the religious practices and rituals that occur at the wall, including the enforcement of gender-segregated prayer areas.

💡Women of the Wall

Women of the Wall is a women's advocacy group that seeks to promote gender equality in religious practices at the Western Wall. The video discusses their efforts to pray in the women's section with the same rights as men, such as reading from Torah scrolls and wearing tefillin and prayer shawls. This group has faced opposition from ultra-Orthodox Jews, leading to periodic conflicts and highlighting the ongoing debates about religious practice and gender roles within Judaism.

Highlights

The Western Wall is a major Jewish sacred site in Jerusalem, also known as the Kotel in Hebrew.

It is part of the Western retaining wall of the Temple Mount platform, built by King Herod the Great during the renovation of the Second Jewish Temple in 1st century BCE.

The wall is a historical layer cake, with Herodian era blocks at the bottom, Umayyad period blocks, and smaller stones from later Islamic periods.

The entire Western Wall extends for almost 500 meters, with parts of it being underground due to the difference in ancient and current street levels.

Israeli archaeologists conduct ongoing excavations in the Western Wall tunnels, revealing some of the largest stones in the wall.

Jews congregate at the Western Wall due to its proximity to the Holy of Holies, the holiest site for Jews.

The Western Wall has been a site for prayer since at least the 16th century, with an edict by Ottoman Sultan Suleiman permitting Jewish prayer.

The wall has transformed from a narrow alley to an open-air plaza that can hold about 60,000 people since the founding of the State of Israel.

The plaza's current layout was created after the Six-Day War in 1967, when the Israeli army defeated the Jordanians and leveled the Moroccan quarter.

Millions of people visit the Western Wall annually, with up to a hundred thousand Jews visiting each day during pilgrimage holidays.

Devotional practices at the wall include prayer, reading the Torah, celebrating Bar Mitzvahs, and placing prayer notes between the stones.

The Kotel Heritage Foundation allows people to submit prayers online to be placed as paper notes at the wall.

Prayer notes are removed from the wall twice a year and buried on the Mount of Olives, following the treatment of a damaged Torah scroll or prayer book.

The Western Wall is an open-air Orthodox synagogue with separate men and women sections, enforced by Orthodox religious authorities.

Women of the Wall advocacy group has pushed for more egalitarian prayer practices, allowing women to read from Torah scrolls and wear ritual objects.

Conflicts have arisen between Women of the Wall and ultra-Orthodox Jews, with incidents of disruption and violence reported.

The Western Wall exemplifies the diversity of Jewish practice and the durability of religious significance across different historical eras.

Transcripts

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the Western Wall in the Old City of

Jerusalem also called the Kotel and

Hebrew has been a major Jewish sacred

site for centuries but what is the

Western Wall it's called the Western

Wall because it's a segment of the

Western retaining wall of the

rectangular Temple Mount platform this

was built under the reign of King Herod

the Great when he launched an ambitious

project to renovate the second Jewish

temple in the 1st century BCE and when I

say ambitious

I mean ambitious to make the platform he

basically flattened Mount Moriah the

site according to Jewish tradition where

the creation of the world happened and

where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac

the landscape slopes from north to south

down towards the oldest part of

Jerusalem called the City of David so in

order to make a level platform Hera's

engineers needed to cut into bedrock on

the north side and build a series of

subterranean arches on the southern side

to support the platform the western wall

itself is a layer cake of history you

can still see the Herodian era blocks

here they are the biggest ones on the

bottom then there are a few layers of

Umayyad period blocks from the 7th and

8th centuries when the Islamic Ummah

dynasty ruled Jerusalem and then you

have a few layers of smaller stones up

top which are from later Islamic periods

what you see in all the pictures though

is only a very small segment of the

Western retaining wall the entire length

of the western wall extends for almost

500 metres total and a bunch of it is

actually underground because the current

street level of the old city is a few

meters higher than the ancient street

level you can still see these levels

today if you tour the western wall

tunnels where you can find some of the

largest stones in the wall some weighing

hundreds of tons Israeli archaeologists

are conducting ongoing excavations down

here to which I had the opportunity to

visit in 2018 Jews congregate here

because of its proximity to the Holy of

Holies the holiest site for Jews where

God's presence is said to dwell it was

located within the former Temple of

Jerusalem before the Romans destroyed it

in 70 CE II a few hundred years later

the Muslim of Maya dynasty built the

Dome of the rock over what most

archaeologists agree was roughly the

same spot of the Jewish temple so for

centuries the Western Wall has been

the closest you can get to the Holy of

Holies without actually entering the

sanctuary itself though technically you

can get a little bit closer at a segment

within the western wall tunnels which in

and of itself has become a popular place

to pray to we don't exactly know when

Jews started to pray at the western wall

in the 16th century the ottoman sultan

Suleiman issued an edict permitting Jews

to pray there but the tradition probably

stretches back hundreds of years before

that early Christian sources from Lane

antiquity described Jews praying around

the ruins of the temple though we're not

exactly sure if these texts are

specifically talking about the western

wall itself but today when we say the

western wall we generally mean this

specific segment which is now an

open-air plaza that can hold about

60,000 people though a lot has changed

in just a century since the founding of

the State of Israel if you look at

photographs from the early 20th century

you can see that access to the western

wall was possible only through a narrow

alley this was because the buildings

comprising the Moroccan Quarter and Arab

neighborhood founded in the 12th century

were built basically up to the wall

itself as you can see from this old

photograph following the arab-israeli

war of 1948 Jordan had control of the

eastern part of Jerusalem and restricted

Jews from accessing the western wall but

during the six-day war in 1967 the

Israeli army defeated the Jordanians and

then in a controversial move levelled

the Moroccan quarter and displaced its

residents within a few days this created

the open layout of the plaza that we see

today but it remains a sore spot in the

history of the israeli-palestinian

conflict today millions of people visit

the western wall each year and during

pilgrimage holidays like Passover Sukkot

& Shavuot upwards to a hundred thousand

Jews visited each day historically these

were holidays when Jews would travel to

the temple to make sacrifices and

although animal sacrifice is no longer

practiced many Jews still travel to the

western wall to pray during these

holidays to give you a sense of the

sheer size of the crowds I took this

footage during Passover in 2018 on the

pedestrian bridge overlooking the plaza

if you visit today you'll see a lot of

people praying reading the Torah or even

celebrating Bar Mitzvahs but another

popular devotional practice involves

stuffing prayer notes between the cracks

of the stone you can see thousands of

them if you visit the wall the Kotel

Heritage Foundation's website even lets

you

this remotely writing your prayer online

and letting someone else place it for

you as a paper note two times a year

workers will remove the prayer notes

from the wall but since it's forbidden

to destroy them they are buried on the

Mount of Olives treated in a similar

manner to a damaged Torah scroll or

prayer book as with many religious sites

there's some controversy that's worth

mentioning to the area around the

western wall is officially designated by

Orthodox religious authorities as an

open-air Orthodox synagogue and thus

they enforce separate men and women

sections here and here women's advocacy

groups such as women of the wall have

pushed for more a gala terian prayer at

the western wall that would allow women

to pray in the women's section reading

from Torah scrolls and wearing Jewish

ritual objects such as tefillin and

prayer shawls which are generally

reserved only for men this has

periodically sparked conflict from

ultra-orthodox Jews who have tried to

disrupt these women by shouting over

them or even going so far as to throw

rocks and eggs at them in October 2019

the Jerusalem Chief Rabbi denounced

women of the wall calling on Orthodox

women to protest their prayers a

journalist on the ground reported that

dozens of boys and men shouted at the

worshippers and a loudspeaker from the

men's section tried to drown out the

group's prayer the western wall is thus

a glimpse into the diversity of Jewish

practice around the world on this issue

while some denominations will allow

women to read the Torah during synagogue

services or even ordained female rabbis

other synagogues prohibit these

practices I've been to a lot of famous

religious sites but this one really

stands out in my mind just looking at

the wall you'll see major eras of

history staring you at the face Herodian

Umayyad ottoman but you also see the

durability of religious practice how

millions of Jews have held this site

sacred for centuries even as those

different dynasties rose and fell if

you'd like to learn more about this area

check out my video on the Dome of the

rock and as always thanks for watching

and I'll see you next time