Prayer Roll

Religious Jews from around the world travel to Jerusalem, write prayers on small pieces of paper, and then place them in the cracks of the huge Herodian stones of the famous Western Wall. This wall is a very sacred site to Judaism because it is a remnant of the ancient Temple Mount (not the temple itself), and, furthermore, some Jews hold that the Divine Presence resides at the wall. In some ways, these prayer notes remind us of the “prayer roll” of our temples, spoken of by President Dallin H. Oaks245 and others. Jews also pray at the wall and worship with deep emotion and spiritual passion.

A woman places a prayer note in a crack of the Western Wall, Jerusalem, while other women pray.