The Western Wall, a source of spiritual strength for millions of Jews around the world, is having its physical stability checked in preparation for the coming High Holy Days. A small group of engineers visited the grounds of the Western Wall in Jerusalem this week to ensure its sturdiness in the run-up to the Days of Awe, the 10 days between Rosh Hashana (the Jewish new year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). The engineers surveyed the stones of the Western Wall, removing foreign pieces of rock and debris that had been carried to the wall by various birds. Over the next week and a half, Western Wall workers are expected to begin cleaning the stones of the Wall and removing prayer notes stuffed in the cracks.
Hundreds of thousands of worshippers usually flock to the site at this time to say Slichot (Jewish penitential poems and prayers) and other prayers. A week after Yom Kippur, crowds gather again to recite the priestly blessing (Birkat Hakohanim) for the holiday of Sukkot.
According to the official Western Wall website, twice a year, at Passover and at Rosh Hashana, specially trained workers who have been purified in a ritual bath collect the scraps of paper with wooden sticks and then bury them on the Mount of Olives. Their work is supervised by a rabbi of the Western Wall.
All quiet on the Western Wall
As the Days of Awe approach, a small group of engineers visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City to ensure its sturdiness • Engineers surveyed the stones, removed foreign rock and debris, and are expected to clean the stones in the coming week.
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