THE WESTERN WAILING WALL

(Message by Tanny Keng)

1. Why do people pray and cry at the wall every Friday? a) What is known as the Western or Wailing Wall is located within the part of Jerusalem known as the 'old city.' Some believe it is the last remaining remnant of Herod's Temple. Although an exposed section (the side that faces a large plaza dedicated to prayer) is 187 feet wide, the total above ground width of the wall is 1,600 feet. Much of it is hidden behind structures built along its length. The height of the exposed stone is approximately 62 feet. It is considered one of the most sacred sites in Judaism. b) The Wall is considered a very special site for Jews. They have offered prayers near it since at least the 4th century A.D. Starting around the mid-19th century, several attempts by Jews have been made to purchase rights to the structure and the land that immediately surrounds it. All these attempts, however, failed. This location came under the control of Jordan after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Under the Jordanians, Jews were barred from the area until Israel captured the Old City in 1967. c) Jerusalem's first temple, built by King Solomon, was destroyed in 586 B.C. Although the foundations of a second temple (in the same location as the first) were laid about 535 B.C., by the time of King Herod the building had suffered significant decay and assaults from armies. Herod began rebuilding Jerusalem's temple (known as the second or Herod's temple) in 20 B.C. Work on the temple was not fully completed until 65 A.D. Roman legions took the city of Jerusalem by storm and set fire to the temple in several places in 70 A.D. d) Some Jews go to the Wall every Friday afternoon to mourn the destruction of Jerusalem's Temple and bewail their desolate condition (see Psalm 79). This is the reason why the area is also called the Wailing Wall.

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