With each New Year comes the prospect of new beginnings, and it is no different for the Western Wall in Jerusalem. As the holiday of Rosh Hashana – the Jewish New Year – approaches, the wall, brimming with notes, is filled to capacity.
In order to make way for a fresh crop, the wall is cleaned, with layers upon layers of papers removed under the supervision of Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, who ensures their confidentiality.
The notes are taken from the wall as the rabbi says a prayer, requesting that God fulfill the wishes contained within them.
This process happens twice a year before Rosh Hashana and Passover so that every Jew who wants to place a note into a crevice of the wall has the space to do so.