Notes to God scribbled on paper were removed on Wednesday from the cracks in Judaism's holiest site, the Western Wall, to make room for more ahead of the Jewish holiday of Passover. Shmuel Rabinovitch, the head rabbi of the Western Wall, led a team equipped with long wooden sticks and plastic bags to collect the thousands of paper notes hidden in between the cracks of the wall. Dozens of bags filled with notes will be buried in the Mount of Olives overlooking the holy site, Rabinovitch said. The tradition is carried out twice a year to make room for more notes, especially before major Jewish holidays. "This place enables prayer, a place where God is always present, as he told [biblical King] Solomon. It is called by the people of Israel a wall of tears, many tears of Jews, many tears and many requests. We are praying that God will listen to the prayers of Jews and non-Jews who come here and give them what they ask for," Rabinovitch said.
