Officials estimate that beginning on Motzei Shabbos, last night, some 150,000 people will be arriving at the Kosel nightly for slichos as Ashkenazim join their Sephardi brethren and begin slichos ahead of Rosh Hashanah.
Security in the Old City of Yerushalayim, particularly around the Kosel, remains high as Rosh Hashanah nears, tourists begin arriving, and Muslims are preparing to wind down Ramadan and begin celebrating Id el-Fitr.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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2 Responses
I was at the Kotel this past year on Hoshana Rabbah while visiting for Sukkos. When I arrived for my daily visit, it was midnight. I davened a little and soon discovered that people were coming and realized they were there to stay. Never in my life had i heard of the concept of the greatness of the day, so much that people stay ALL NIGHT at the Kotel. With that knowledge, I couldn’t tear myself away. I decided to stay put, as I was traveling on my own and had noone to go back to. I stayed, sat and thought, ‘meditated’, basked in the unbeleivable atmosphere, davened and immersed in the energy. I was enthralled at the prospect of spending the night there. Me, an american, visiting – it was the highlight of my trip. When more people started coming as daybreak approached, I moved to the front. It was 3 rows deep right by the wall. People were squished to get close, but the energy and love was so palpable because it was a unanimous feeling! Doesnt it warm your heart to see others praying with such intensity? Doesnt it stir someting in you? Don’t you love hearing others pray the way they do at the Kotel? “Pushing, cacophany?” maybe. But theres a common goal in all the ‘frenzy.’ So maybe you gotta dig a little inside yourself and forgive the person who took your 6 inches of “personal space” and maybe you gotta try harder to concetrate – but whats the pay-off? What did you gain from being at the Holiest point we have access to nowadays on a day with all that koach? When I turned around after sunrise, I was shocked — the ENTIRE plaza, all the way up the steps, including rooftops was PACKED with people. I was so elated to have been a part of this, I felt to connected to Hashem, to the klal, my people and the kedusha of the site. It was well worth the stuff that comes along with having the company of a couple thousand like-minded people. May the day come soon where we can ALL have the ZECHUS to return there as an Am Echad, B’lev Echad!
oih veih flatbusher!!!
please review [parshas shlach with meforshim
&] the end of meseches ksubos
in order to understand y ur post does not befitt a frum jew.