Kotel: Appropriate and Inappropriate Uses

Rating Advisory: B

The custom of Egyptian Jews was to wish one another after the conclusion of Tish'ah be-Av:

תזכה לראות בנחמת ציון בקרוב
You should merit to witness the
restoration of Zion in the near future

With Tish'ah be-Av over, we can now start preparing for Jewish Valentine's Day (a.k.a. Tu be-Av).

(For my Tish'ah be-Av primer, click here. On the above-mentioned custom of Egyptian Jews, click here. For my Tu be-Av primer, click here.)

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[Again my pictures, have disappeard. Please bear with me as I upload them again.]

Every visit to the Kotel (Western Wall) is another experience. I'm not talking about the mad search for a parking spot--I used to just head strait for the lots on Har Tziyyon, but the last time I was there they had installed parking meters--but rather what I've seen at the Kotel itself. Here is what I remember from some of my visits. (Please click on any image to enlarge.)

1) Romance: The Pre-Marital Photo-Op

The Kotel is a popular place for brides and grooms to be photographed prior to their wedding.
This custom continues despite the stated opposition by rabbis, who argue that this is not an appropriate use for such a holy place. For example, see the teshuvah (responsum) in Hayyim David Halevi, Aseh Lekha Rav (Tel Aviv, 1985), vol. 6, pp. 260-65:
From the conclusion to the teshuvah:

It is simple and clear that without a doubt it is forbidden to enter [the area] for any purpose other than to fulfill a commandment. This is to say nothing of a light-headed matter such as a bride and groom coming with their entourages for the purpose of taking pictures as a keepsake opposite the remnant of our holy Temple, in various poses at the behest of the photographer, who wishes only to fatten his pockets by taking many pictures . . . there is no greater irreverence than this, which is forbidden even in a regular synagogue, all the more so in the environs of the Western Wall.

Therefore, heed my advice, and desist from this practice which in of itself has no purpose. On the contrary, on that very day you should visit the Western Wall in solitude—and not dressed up like a bride and groom—in order to pour out [your hearts] in prayer and supplication before the Divine Spirit that rests in this holy place, that you should merit to establish household that is faithful to God and his Torah and that is full of wealth and blessing.

2) Hinukh (Education): A Siddur Party

Every first-grade class in a Jewish school has a siddur party for the purpose of distributing to the young students their first siddur (prayer book). What more appropriate place to host a siddur party than the Kotel, popularly the most tangible reminder of the ancient Temple service itself! The party commenced in the Kotel plaza and included the de rigueur teachers' speeches and students' songs before ceremony during which the siddurim were actually distributed.

After the cute ceremony the students, parents and teachers proceeded toward the Kotel itself, where the little boys used their crisp new siddurim for the first time. A sudden shower was not enough to dampen their excitement.

3) Mass Bar/Bat Mitzvah for Families Affected by the Matav ("Situation")

The last time I saw Mark, my madrikh (counselor) from my year-in-Israel program, was about 2½ years ago. I was on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land together with the Mrs. and her grandmother. During our umpteenth visit to the Kotel one morning, we saw workers preparing for a mass bar/bat mitzvah tekes (ceremony) for celebrants whose families were robbed by The Terror. I turned around and there was Mark, sitting by the far wall of the Kotel plaza. His daughter had become a bat mitzvah that year and they were participating in the ceremony because their son Matanya was killed in the Battle of Jenin in 2002 (click here).

This visit to the Kotel remains etched in my memory, but it obviously does not have the heart warming association as with the siddur party. It goes without saying that it would have been better had there been no need for this tekkes.

4) Repentance: Midnight Penitential Prayer

The night before we returned to America we paid our last visit to the Old City and the Kotel. Parking was actually more difficult that I had expected for 1am, and when we finally reached the Kotel plaza I was not prepared for the masses of men and women I saw fervently praying. All of a suddent a heard a shofar blast and I remembered that this was the first night of selihot for Sephardim, and thousands had come to recite them at the Kotel.
For the week (give or take a few days depending on the year) prior to Rosh Hashanah one recites selihot, special penitential prayers in preparation for the Days of Awe. Sephardim actually begin reciting selihot a full month prior to Rosh Hashanah. Ideally one should recite selihot in the middle of the night, though generally this only done for the first night, after which selihot precede the regular morning prayers.

When I was in yeshivah in Israel I remember waking up in the morning to the cacophonous sounds of the Sephardi students who who had arisen at the crack of dawn for selihot. Apparently some Jerusalemite Sephardim recite Selihot in the middle of the night for the entire month, as the owner of a steakhouse/shawarma joint in Mahane Yehudah told me that he closes at four in the morning for this month so he could feed the midnight penitents.

4) Priestly Blessings: The Three Festival

On hol ha-mo'ed (the intermediary days) of Sukkot and Passover one can come to the Kotel and see hundreds of kohanim (those of priestly descent) from all over the world draped in their prayer shawls as they pronounce blessings on the tens of thousands in attendance. I've never seen this, but I hope to in the future.

The mass blessing that took place on Sukkot 2006 was said to be the largest since 1967 (click here). For a Youtube video of the blessing from that years, click below:

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There was interesting article in today's Jerusalem Post encouraging Jews to increase their presence on Har ha-Bayyit (Temple Mount). Aside from the content, I thought it was interesting because the author was Prof. David Golinkin of the Schechter Institute in Jerusalem. I can't find the link to the article, but the gist of it also appears in his responsum on the subject (click here). [Update, thanks to a commenter: the Jpost link is here.]

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For more on my adventures in Israel, please click on the subject label below for "Israel Vacation 8/06."