Jerusalem's Wailing Wall
Tips for Visiting the Holiest of Jewish Sites
With the 60th anniversary celebration of Israel as a nation, many are traveling to Jerusalem. If you go, be sure to visit the Wailing Wall and tuck in a prayer request.
No trip to the Holy Lands is complete without a visit to the Wailing Wall in Old Jerusalem, the holiest shrine of the Jewish people.
For centuries, devout Jews have gathered at the Wailing Wall courtyard to pray. You can find the faithful praying any day of the year, any hour of the day or night. However, it’s when the Sabbath begins on Friday evenings at sundown that you find the largest number of people gathered there. As most of them bob their heads up and down with prayer books tucked in their hands, others sing heavenly music of prayerful devotions.
History of the Wailing Wall
Built around 19 BC, the Wailing Wall dates as far back as the end of the Second Temple period. Also known as the Western Wall, the Wailing Wall is located in the Jewish Quarters of Old Jerusalem. It’s called the Wailing Wall because of the cries of the Jews who come there to mourn the destruction of the Holy Temple.
After the Romans destroyed the ancient Jewish Temple in 70 AD, the wall was the only remaining structure of Jerusalem’s ancient Temple. Until the Byzantine period, Jews were banned from coming to Jerusalem. Later they were allowed to visit only once a year (on the anniversary of the Temple’s destruction). Here they wept over the ruins of the Holy Temple.
After Israel became a nation in May of 1948, Jews could again visit the wall until 1967. Then, after the Six Day War in 1967, the Wailing Wall served as the site of not only prayer, but also national jubilation.
Visiting the Wailing Wall Today
A few years ago, only men were allowed to pray aloud at the Wailing Wall. However, today both men and women can visit and pray. However, they go through two separate entrances, not allowed to pray together.
Christians on Holy Land pilgrimages also welcome the opportunity to pray there, tucking their prayer requests on scraps of paper between the wall's cracks. (Monthly the wall is swept, with all the scraps of papered prayer requests spread over the Mount of Olives.)
Today, as you gaze in awe where King Solomon’s magnificent temple once stood, you can just image what it was like to have been there and witnessed the glory of the temple. Although a Muslim mosque now takes on the site where the temple used to sit, the Western Wall has stood for centuries. Besides praying at the wall, Jews gather there to celebrate special religious holidays and occasions such as bar mitzvahs.
Tips for Visiting the Wailing Wall
- Prepare for security checks – Be ready to have your bags searched. Also, have your passport on you.
- Dress appropriately – Don’t wear shorts.
- No smoking
- Taking pictures – Be respectful of religious events. No pictures can be taken on the Sabbath (from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.)
Significance of the Wailing Wall for Believers
For believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Wailing Wall makes you appreciate the direct access you have to God the Father. As you stand and watch fervent Jews offering up their prayers to God, Christians should remember the assurance they have that they can to go directly to the throne room of God.
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16, ANKJ)
