Provided to JBN by the Western Wall Foundation

Ahead of Rosh Hashanah, in keeping with tradition: Prayer notes placed between the stones of the Western Wall over the past six months have been removed and transferred for ritual burial.

From 140 countries around the world: Tens of thousands of prayer notes were sent over the past year to be placed between the stones of the Western Wall • Among them: moving prayers for peace among nations sent from countries hostile to Israel, alongside notes placed by world leaders, IDF soldiers, Israeli citizens and tourists.

As it does every year ahead of the Tishrei holidays, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation carried out the traditional removal of prayer notes placed between the stones of the Western Wall over the past six months. The notes will subsequently be transferred for dedicated genizah, in accordance with Jewish law.

The Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, accompanied the removal and offered a prayer for the unity of the Jewish people and for the acceptance of the prayers contained in the thousands of notes.

The notes were removed in accordance with Jewish law, using gloves and disposable wooden implements, in order to preserve the sanctity of the site and the personal contents of the notes. The notes were collected in specially designated sacks and will be buried together with worn-out sacred texts as part of the genizah.

The Western Wall Heritage Foundation notes that hundreds of prayer notes are sent every day through the Foundation’s website, in addition to the hundreds of thousands of notes personally placed by worshippers and visitors throughout the year.

What has been particularly striking recently are notes sent through the Foundation’s website by citizens of countries hostile to Israel — including Iran, Yemen, Iraq, Qatar, Lebanon, Pakistan, Sudan, Jordan, Egypt, Kazakhstan and others — containing moving requests and, above all, prayers for peace, reconciliation and the building of ties between peoples and nations.

Over the past year, prayer notes from more than 140 countries and territories around the world were sent through the Western Wall Heritage Foundation’s website and transferred to be placed between the stones of the Western Wall. Alongside the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Ukraine and Canada, notes were also received from distant and unexpected places, including India, South Africa, Indonesia, Taiwan, Jamaica, Kenya and Nigeria — a testament to the global, cross-border connection to the Western Wall.

Photo credit: Western Wall Heritage Foundation