0:37 Western Wall The Western Wall (Hebrew: הַכּוֹתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי, romanized: HaKotel HaMa'aravi, lit. 'the western wall'; pronunciation ⓘ; Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: HaKosel HaMa'arovi) is an ancient retaining wall of the built-up hill known to Jews and Christians as the Temple Mount of Jerusalem. Its most famous section, known by the same name, often shortened by.
The Western Wall is the only surviving structure of the Temple Mount still standing since the Temple era. Perhaps the most famous Jewish destination in Israel and beyond, millions from across the globe travel to this sacred site to pray and find inspiration. Read on for 12 facts about this ancient Temple remnant.
1. It Was Part of the Temple Mount It is commonly thought that the Western Wall. Western Wall, in the Old City of Jerusalem, a place of prayer and pilgrimage sacred to the Jewish people.
It is the only remains of the retaining wall surrounding the Temple Mount, the site of the First and Second Temples of Jerusalem, held to be uniquely holy by the ancient Jews. The Western Wall (sometimes called the Wailing Wall, or the Kotel, the Hebrew word for wall) is one of the last remaining walls of the Temple Mount, the elevated plaza in the Old City of Jerusalem that was the site of both ancient Jewish temples. It is the holiest site in Judaism and a place of pilgrimage and prayer.
The Jewish people always pray facing Jerusalem, and those located within Jerusalem direct their hearts toward the Western Wall and the Temple Mount. At many special points throughout the Hebrew calendar, the Jewish people focus on Jerusalem. The Wall is considered one of the most sacred sites in Judaism and is a place of deep historical, cultural, and religious significance.
It is also known as the Wailing Wall in reference to Jewish mourning over the destruction of the Temple. In Islamic tradition, it is called the Al-Buraq Wall, associated with the Prophet Muhammad's Night Journey. This is how the wall became the symbol of the Jewish people's longing for Zion.
And, this was the story told by the representatives of the Jewish community in the Land Israel to the British Commission of Inquiry set up following the riots of 1929, which erupted following a dispute over prayer at the Western Wall. Western Wall The Western Wall, also known as the "Wailing Wall" or the "Kotel", is the most religious site in the world for the Jewish people. Located in the Old City of Jerusalem as seen on our Jerusalem map, it is the last remaining outer wall of the ancient Jewish temple and an incredibly important site of modern Israeli history.
It is the wall that faces westward, and it is the closest in proximity to the site of the Holy of Holies, the most sacred location in the Temple for the Jewish people. Since the Temples' destruction, the Western Wall has served as a source of inspiration, and the focus of yearning and prayer for the Jewish people throughout many generations. The wall and the plaza in front of it form a permanent place of worship, a site of pilgrimage for Jews and a focus of prayer.