The Western Wall: What to Expect

It’s no secret that groups of people from all different religions have been fighting over this piece of land. 

You might know it by the name of ‘The Western Wall’. Maybe to you, it’s ‘The Wailing Wall’.

Regardless – it’ a wall with a lot of significance to a lot of people.

If you’re about to embark on a birthright trip, the chances are high that you will go there. 

If you’re a spiritual person visiting Israel, you might have an interest in going there.

If you’re someone sightseeing Jerusalem, you might not have any interest at all in going there.

Approaching the Western Wall in December of 2017.

I went to Israel on birthright not too long ago. I was only 19; and still very much finding my way (as we all are, as we continue to journey through life) in what I wanted to believe in.

 I wasn’t sure at all what to expect with the wall. My tour guide said some words that still ring in my head to this day,

“Okay, so we’re going to go to the wall now. To some of you, it’s just going to be wall… and some of you are going to feel very connected to it.”

 The experiences we have at the Western Wall are very personal, and although I’m known to be an open book – I’ll be keeping mine under lock and key. 

 I don’t have any pictures of the wall because it wasn’t the first thing on my mind when I was there; and moments where taking a picture isn’t our incentive – are the moments we need to hold the closest.

Because we don’t have any photographs to remind us of them.

Expect the wall to be busy. No, busy isn’t the right word…

… expect the wall to be swarmed. Expect to be shoulder to shoulder with people. Expect to have to fight your way to get a moment with the wall.

My friend, who had been to the wall before, said it was a disappointing wall experience because it was so crowded. 

We were there during Hanukkah, which could have resulted in more people praying… but Hanukkah isn’t one of the high holy days in Judaism, so I’m not sure how true that assumption that is.

If you do decide to visit the wall, I think you should go in with the expectation that you can’t have any expectations for how you’ll feel. You need to just roll with it.

 If I could go back – I would make sure I had scrap paper and a pen.

 Of course, being the obsessive writer that I am – I had a pen on me, and as I had just flown into Israel the day before, I still had my plane ticket printed out in my pocket.

Still, I blanked on bringing it with me. Don’t make the same mistake that I did – be sure that you have something to write with, because you just don’t know what you’re going to want to do in the moment.

Of course, you’ll want to be respectful and keep your phone away and at a low volume for everyone else (it’s not as quiet as a library, but we’re also not in a food court, here), but you should really put your phone away for yourself.

Again, I can’t tell you how or what you’re going to feel at the Western Wall – but be prepared to expect the unexpected.

 Bring a pen, a piece of paper, and an open heart. 

You just might be surprised.