Western Wall

The Western Wall is a limestone retaining wall in Jerusalem’s Old City, revered in Judaism as a surviving remnant of the Second Temple complex.

Second Temple: The Jewish temple in Jerusalem rebuilt after the Babylonian exile and destroyed by Rome in 70 CE. The wall’s religious significance comes from its association with this destroyed temple.
Judaism: A monotheistic religion and cultural tradition rooted in the history and teachings of the Jewish people. The wall is among Judaism’s most revered places of prayer and pilgrimage.
Western Wall Plaza: The open area beside the Western Wall used for prayer, ceremonies, and public gatherings. This plaza is the site most commonly shown and visited at the wall.
Dome of the Rock: An Islamic shrine on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, completed in the late seventh century. It stands on the same sacred plateau, but is an Islamic shrine rather than a retaining wall.
Herod the Great: A Roman client king of Judea who ruled from 37 to 4 BCE and greatly expanded the Second Temple complex. Herod’s expansion created the monumental platform whose western retaining wall survives.
Jewish prayer: The diverse forms of communal and individual worship practiced in Judaism. Daily and festival prayers at the wall connect worshippers with Jewish sacred history.
Western Wall prayer notes: Written petitions placed in the gaps between stones at the Western Wall. The practice expresses personal prayer at the wall and has spread beyond in-person visits.
Al-Aqsa Mosque: A mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and one of Islam’s holiest sites. The mosque shares the contested sacred setting but has a distinct religious function and history.
Temple Mount: A walled elevated plaza in Jerusalem’s Old City, sacred to Jews and Muslims. The Western Wall is part of the retaining structure enclosing its western side.
Tisha B'Av: An annual Jewish day of mourning commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples. The wall becomes a focus for mourning the Temples’ destruction on this day.

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