APT19
Tens of thousands of handwritten prayers were removed from the ancient stones of the Western Wall in Jerusalem as authorities carried out the traditional clearing of “Notes to God.” The ritual, usually performed ahead of Passover and Rosh Hashanah, took place earlier this year after holy sites in the Old City were closed due to the Iranian missile threat. Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz said the notes will be buried at the Mount of Olives in accordance with Jewish tradition. The Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray and a remnant of the Second Temple destroyed in 70 AD, has remained largely empty since missile barrages forced the closure of sacred sites across Jerusalem’s Old City.
