Rosh Hashanah!

I've always called it the "Wailing Wall" until last night. Apparently the official name of it is the Western Wall, and it is considered disrespectful to call it anything else. Last night we had the opportunity to go here when the Jews were celebrating the beginning of the Sabbath as well as the beginning of the New Year (Rosh Hashanah). 


As a result we were not allowed to bring in any cameras because no one is allowed to work (i.e. take pictures, use cell phones, etc.) on the Sabbath. 


The Western Wall is considered one of the most sacred sites in Judaism because the wall is all that is left of the otherwise destroyed Solomon's Temple. Jews come from all over the world to worship and believe that when Christ comes the temple will be reconstructed at this site.  


A barrier separates the men and women from worshipping right alongside each other. As I walked closer to the wall on the women's side, I was touched by the Jewish women I passed who were praying and bawling as they read the Talmud and faced the wall. When I got close to the wall I noticed hundreds of folded papers that had been shimmied in the wall cracks. These are personal prayers of the people to God.


As women stepped away from the wall, they began to walk backwards all the way through the courtyard because on the Sabbath Orthodox Jews are only allowed to take a certain number of steps (walking backwards doesn't count as a step). They also do this so they won't turn their back on the wall, a sign of disrespect. 


At one point I went over to the very edge of the wall in an attempt to navigate away from the hoards of people there. There was one woman with her open Talmud who was up against the wall singing softly. She had one of the most beautiful voices I have heard. I have been thinking a lot about the millions of people around the world who all worship differently from what I am used to, and yet we are all ultimately trying to grow closer to God. 


I was surprised by the diversity of people at the Western Wall. People really do come here to worship from all over the world. We met some girls from New York who are here in Jerusalem for one year studying Judaism during their gap year. (The year they take off between high school and university). They taught us a traditional song and dance and soon enough we joined in the Rosh Hashanah festivities.