The holiest shrine of the Jewish world, the Western Wall (also known as the Kotel or Wailing Wall) is all that remains of the Second Temple of Jerusalem, razed in 70AD by the armed intervention of Roman forces under Titus. For many centuries it has been a place of pilgrimage for Jews, a symbol of their historical heritage and common origins. It is customary for pilgrims and visitors to place little notes and folded prayers in the cracks of the wall, as messages to God.
The wall represents for Jews throughout the world the covenant of God with the Jewish people. It is predicted that it will never be destroyed and that its indestructibility mirrors the historical resilience of the Jewish nation through exile and hardship.
When King Solomon built and consecrated the original temple, it was intended to be an interfaith centre, including all those who heeded the laws set down in the Torah as to the righteous behaviour of those who were not Jews. These were: do not murder, do not steal, do not worship false gods, do not be sexually immoral, do not eat the limb of an animal before it is killed, do not curse God, and set up courts and bring offenders to justice. Maimonides, a 12th-century Jewish sage and commentator, states that any man or woman who follows these laws will gain a place in heaven.
When King Solomon built and consecrated the original temple, it was intended to be an interfaith centre, including all those who heeded the laws set down in the Torah as to the righteous behaviour of those who were not Jews. These were: do not murder, do not steal, do not worship false gods, do not be sexually immoral, do not eat the limb of an animal before it is killed, do not curse God, and set up courts and bring offenders to justice. Maimonides, a 12th-century Jewish sage and commentator, states that any man or woman who follows these laws will gain a place in heaven.
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