Western Wall prayer notes removed, stones sanitized to protect worshipers

Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, rabbi of the Western Wall and Israel’s other holy sites, supervised the removal to make sure it was done properly, using gloves and disposable wooden tools.

By World Israel News Staff

As per custom prior to Passover and Rosh Hashanah, the Western Wall’s prayer notes were cleared out of its walls on Tuesday morning and buried along with other sacred papers on the Mount of Olives.

Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, rabbi of the Western Wall and Israel’s other holy sites, supervised the removal to make sure it was done properly, using gloves and disposable wooden tools.

He also issued a prayer asking God’s protection and help for those affected by the deadly coronavirus.

“During these difficult days in which the plague is spreading around the world and threatening our lives, we collect prayers from around the world at the remnant of our destroyed Temple, prayers to the Creator of the Universe that He should send us a complete healing and good health and redeem us from this difficult virus that has attacked the world,” Rabbi Rabinowitz prayed.

Meanwhile, in an effort to protect worshipers who pray at the sacred wall, local workers sanitized its stones.

With the coronavirus spreading rapidly through the country, prayer at the Western Wall has been a contentious issue due to the large crowds usually present.

Earlier this month, Israel’s Chief Sephardic Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef ruled that praying at the Western Wall should be avoided, as well as all religious services with large groups.

According to Yosef, “There is no halachic [Jewish law] directive that overrides the instructions of the Ministry of Health” and all such instructions must be obeyed “without exception.”

However, Rabinowitz ruled at the time that it was permissible to continue coming to the Western Wall as long as worshipers practiced social distancing.

As of March 26, The Western Wall Heritage Foundation announced, per Health Ministry guidelines, the Western Wall is now open only to Jerusalem’s Old City residents. On Monday night, Prime Ministery Benjamin Netanyahu announced stricter regulations countrywide, including a limit of 10 worshipers at the Western Wall.