Closing a 2,000-Year Cycle

Guest posting from Gloria of "Grandma's Army"

King Herod built the Western Wall in 20 BCE during an expansion of the Second Temple. When the Romans destroyed the temple in 70 CE, the support wall survived, which made it the holiest site for the Jewish People ever since. The reason it has been dubbed as the “Wailing Wall” is that, for hundreds of years, people prayed and wept in the small area of the wall that could be seen.  

After the 1948 War of Independence, the Eastern portion of Jerusalem was occupied by Jordan. Under Jordanian control Jews were completely expelled from the Old City for 19 years, effectively banning Jewish prayer at the site of the Western Wall.

In 1967, following the Six-Day War, Israelis regained control of the whole of Jerusalem. Digging below the ground of the wall, they exposed two more levels. They also cleared the area around the wall, to create the Western Wall Plaza that visitors see today, and which is open to all people. Since Jews have been  mourning their Temple and exile for 2,000 years, they come from all over the world to pray at the “Wailing Wall.”

Every picture tells a story, and for many Israelis, the story of the Western Wall is told through a picture taken in 1967 by renowned photographer David Rubinger. This photograph shows paratroopers of the Israeli Defense Forces staring in awe at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, shortly after its liberation in the Six-Days War.

Since then, the link between the Western Wall, the Jewish People and their state is emphasized time and time again when events such as bar mitzvahs and military inductions are held.

Last Thursday two of my grandsons took part in a swearing-in ceremony at the Wall and I had the privilege of being one of the proud spectators. Both grandsons are in the same commando force.  One had just finished his basic training and, together with his co-soldiers, was presented with a gun and a Bible. My second grandson, who is the commander of one of the two corps of the squadron,  gave out the guns to the  new soldiers. The ceremony also included two other squadrons - which made for a very impressive number of soldiers.

Some family members of the newly inducted soldiers had arrived at three in the afternoon in order to get a place as near as possible to the  fenced-off area. The ceremony began at 6:30 p.m. in the very cold and windy Jerusalem air. By 5 p.m. when we were told to arrive, there were so many people standing on top of each other that the heat most decidedly rose by a few degrees. 

I have been attending such ceremonies for approximately 40 years but this fact does not diminish the feeling in any way, both of national pride and mixed emotions.