POST #11

The ending of the Jewish Quarter tour. This is on the descending plaza leading to the Western Wall.

A quiet Western Wall on Tuesday morning. This is quite a contrast to the first time we got to the Wall which was Friday night. Before you even get there, you can hear the roar of the Shabbos prayers and songs coming from the Wall. And when you actually get there...incredible. There are thousands are Jews there, thousands. And of every kind you can imagine. There are older Jews making their way through the crowd, children running all over the place, tourists standing in place in wonderment, Chassidim of every stripe in their Minyans, singing their own versions of Kabbalas Shabbos, and young people dancing everywhere. There was a large circle of what looked like seminary girls sitting on the floor in middle of it all, seemingly oblivious to everything, looking for all the world like they were around a campfire.

It was something else. But obviously, no pictures.

This is the men's section of the Wall area. You can see the Mechitza on the right. There is also a Mechitza behind the worshipers, to separate between those praying and those who are not, creating a shul in front and a plaza in the back.

The Chabad Tefillin booth at the Wall. My British friend Shmuli Weiss is usually there running the booth and greeting anything that moves in the vicinity of the Shul, but this morning he hadn't gotten there yet, and the sight of the no-nonsense, fiery Israeli Chabadniks trying to communicate with completely uncomprehending Canadian teenagers who don't understand why and how they ended up wearing Tefillin...it was very funny. Quote: "Tagid Veahavta, tagid Veahavta!" "We're just here as part of the tour, we don't need to do this!"

These are the tens of podiums and bimahs that are available for the Bar Mitzvahs and other celebrations constantly going on. To the right you see the white barrier separating the Shul area from the plaza.

The peacefulness of the photo is so sweet, no sign at all of the diaper distress we have just experienced in the ancient Kotel Tunnels...an unforgettable tour :).