Ahead of Passover: The Western Wall Heritage Foundation is preparing for the pilgrimage of tens of thousands of worshipers – and this morning (Wednesday) the ‘prayer notes’ that have been buried between the layers of the Western Wall for the past six months have been evacuated.
The evacuation was carried out according to halakhic guidelines and through the use of disposable gloves and wooden utensils, with the aim of making room for new notes of tourists and visitors who are expected to arrive in Jerusalem in the coming months.
The notes were collected in sacks and buried along with worn-out holy books, which are transferred to a dedicated genizah on the Mount of Olives.
The Rabbi of the Western Wall and the Holy Places, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, accompanied the evacuation personally every year and offered a prayer for the souls of those killed in terrorist attacks in the past week, for the complete and speedy healing of the wounded and a prayer for world peace and the Jews of Ukraine.
Western Wall Heritage Foundation: “The most notable figure is the increase in the number of notes sent from Ukraine in the last month. Ukraine jumped number 14 on the list to number 5 on the list of top countries in sending notes in March 2022.
“The ten countries from which the highest number of notes were sent: the United States, Slovakia, Colombia, England, Ukraine, Brazil, South Africa, India, the Netherlands and Germany.”