Western Wall
Temple's surviving stones
The Western Wall is the remaining outer retaining wall of the ancient Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, considered the holiest site where Jews are permitted to pray.
Also called the Wailing Wall (from the sounds of lamentation made there), it has been a place of pilgrimage and prayer for centuries, with visitors traditionally inserting written prayers into cracks between the stones.
The site holds deep religious significance as the closest accessible point to where the Temple's Holy of Holies once stood.
Preserved walled urban center
- Temple MountJerusalem's contested sacred plateau
- Jewish QuarterHistoric designated Hebrew district
- Dome of the RockIslamic shrine on Temple Mount
- Al-Aqsa MosqueJerusalem's silver-domed shrine
City of David · Mount Moriah · Israel · Zion · Six-Day War · Herod the Great · King Solomon · Middle East
Judaism's core scripture
- synagogueJewish house of worship
- rabbiJewish spiritual leader
- ShabbatJewish day of rest
- tefillinJewish prayer boxes worn daily
kippah · minyan · Hebrew · bar mitzvah · siddur · tallit · mezuzah · Talmud
Brief written records
- crevicesNarrow splits in surfaces
- supplicationHumble plea for help
- petitionFormal written appeal
- minyanJewish prayer quorum
siddur · swaying · blessing · devotion · intercession · liturgy · psalm · chanting
Very old indeed
- stonesSmall hard earth fragments
- Second TempleRebuilt Jerusalem sanctuary
- ruinsDecayed structural remains
- archaeologyStudy of physical remnants
excavation · preservation · antiquity · artifact · inscription · monument · civilization · restoration
Trip to see another
- journeyTravel from place to place
- sacred siteConsecrated place of worship
- holy placeSite deemed spiritually sacred
- reverenceProfound admiring respect
devotion · spiritual · gathering · crowds · worshippers · faithful · tradition · observance
Old City
Preserved walled urban center
- Temple MountJerusalem's contested sacred plateau
- Jewish QuarterHistoric designated Hebrew district
- Dome of the RockIslamic shrine on Temple Mount
Al-Aqsa Mosque · City of David · Mount Moriah · Israel · Zion · Six-Day War · Herod the Great · King Solomon · Middle East · UNESCO
Torah
Judaism's core scripture
tefillin · kippah · minyan · Hebrew · bar mitzvah · siddur · tallit · mezuzah · Talmud · mitzvah
notes
Brief written records
- crevicesNarrow splits in surfaces
- supplicationHumble plea for help
- petitionFormal written appeal
minyan · siddur · swaying · blessing · devotion · intercession · liturgy · psalm · chanting · meditation
ancient
Very old indeed
- stonesSmall hard earth fragments
- Second TempleRebuilt Jerusalem sanctuary
- ruinsDecayed structural remains
archaeology · excavation · preservation · antiquity · artifact · inscription · monument · civilization · restoration · conservation
visit
Trip to see another
- journeyTravel from place to place
- sacred siteConsecrated place of worship
- holy placeSite deemed spiritually sacred
reverence · devotion · spiritual · gathering · crowds · worshippers · faithful · tradition · observance · ritual
- Biblical JerusalemTemple Mount, City of David, Mount Zion, First Temple, Second Temple
- Israeli SitesMasada, Acre, Apollonia, Mount Carmel, Sea of Galilee
- Jewish SitesTemple Mount, Masada, Jewish Quarter, City of David, Second Temple
- Middle EastIraq, Baghdad, Cairo, Iran, Jordan
- Ancient IsraelIsraelites, Jerusalem, Israel, twelve tribes, Judea
- IsraelIsrael, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Hebrew
Western WallSecond Temple
Rebuilt Jerusalem sanctuary
First Temple · Holy Temple · Holy of Holies · Solomon's Temple · Temple Mount
Western WallDome of the Rock
Islamic shrine on Temple Mount
Al-Aqsa Mosque · Kaaba · Mecca · St. Peter's Basilica · Vatican
wall, west, Westernization, westerly, westerner, westerners, westernmost, Western