Wailing Wall
Introduction
The Wailing Wall or Wailing Wall[2] (Hebrew: [Hakótel Hama'araví] (abbreviated Kotel), is the holiest site in Judaism, a vestige of the Temple of Jerusalem. Its name in Hebrew simply means "western wall". It dates from the end of the Second Temple period and its construction is attributed to Herod the Great around 19 BC, although An alternative theory based on recent finds, discarded by most archaeologists, suggests that it was built a few decades later by his great-grandson, Agrippa II.[3].
It is one of the four retaining walls around Mount Moriá, erected to expand the esplanade on which the First and Second Temples of Jerusalem were built, forming what is known today as the Esplanade of the Mosques by Muslim tradition or Temple Esplanade by Judeo-Christian tradition. The name Western Wall refers not only to the small 60-meter-long section exposed in the Jewish Quarter, but to the entire 488-meter wall, mostly covered by the buildings of the Muslim Quarter.[4].
History
The First Temple, Temple of Solomon, was built in the century BC. C., and destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BC. C. The Second Temple, meanwhile, was rebuilt by the leaders Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah in the year 536 BC. C. upon returning from exile in Babylon, and it was destroyed again by the Romans in the year 70, during the first Judeo-Roman war. In this way, each temple stood for about 500 years.[2].
According to history, when Emperor Vespasian's legions destroyed the temple, only part of the outer wall remained standing. The then general Titus left this wall so that the Jews would have the bitter memory that Rome had defeated Judea (hence the name of the Wailing Wall). The Jews, however, attributed it to a promise made by God, according to which at least a part of the sacred temple would always remain standing as a symbol of his perpetual alliance with the Jewish people. Jews have prayed in front of this wall for the last two thousand years, believing that this is the most sacred accessible place on Earth, since they cannot access the interior of the Esplanade of the Mosques, which would be the most sacred of all. In any case, Hebrew prayers in front of the wall are not limited to laments. The book of Psalms is read and Bar Mitzva ceremonies are performed. Praise and requests (oral and written) are common and continuous.
In front of him the destruction of the city and the dispersion of the Hebrew people are commonly lamented, with Friday being a day of special intensity. The tradition of inserting a small paper with a prayer between the cracks in the wall is several centuries old. Jewish prayers include fervent supplications to God to return to the land of Israel, the return of all Jewish exiles, the rebuilding of the temple (the third), and the arrival of the messianic era with the coming of the Jewish messiah.