Employees from the Western Wall Heritage Foundation removed prayer notes from the Western Wall on Wednesday. The notes had been left between the stones an in the cracks of the 2,000-year-old Herodian structure over the last six months.
Every year millions of notes are placed in the wall by Jewish and non-Jewish worshipers, together with notes sent through the website of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, as well as by fax and mail.
To date, 672,210 notes have been sent to the Western Wall through the website of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation alone.
The notes were removed under the supervision of the rabbi of the Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, using wooden tools as opposed to metal due to the sanctity of the stones.
In order to preserve the privacy and dignity of the worshipers, the notes were kept in a blocked-off area until the collection was completed, and all the notes were placed in sealed bags. The notes will be buried.
At the conclusion of the work, the Rabbi of the Western Wall prayed that all requests written on the notes be answered.