Purging prayers from the Wall

Each year, hundreds of thousands of prayer notes are stuffed into the Western Wall — Judaism’s holiest site — by visitors, tourists, and foreign dignitaries.

Western Wall's Rabbi, Shmuel Rabinowitz, and his helpers remove thousands of handwritten notes placed between the ancient stones of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site in the Old City of Jerusalem. (photo credit: Uri Lenz/Flash90)

The Western Wall's Rabbi, Shmuel Rabinowitz, and his helpers remove thousands of handwritten notes placed between the ancient stones of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, in the Old City of Jerusalem. (photo credit: Uri Lenz/Flash90)

The tradition of placing notes in the Kotel — as the Western Wall is known in Hebrew — dates back to the early 18th century.

The operation is carried out twice each year: before the Passover festival which begins next week and at the Jewish New Year in the fall. (photo credit: Uri Lenz/Flash90)

Twice a year, before Passover and before Rosh Hashanah, the myriad scraps of paper are removed.

Western Wall employees cleaning out thousands of prayer notes. (photo credit: Uri Lenz/Flash90)

The once-stuffed cracks in the millennia-old, limestone wall are exposed, awaiting fresh wishes, hopes, and prayers.

An estimated one million notes are placed in the wall each year. (photo credit: Uri Lenz/Flash90)

When they first arrive, letters addressed to “God, Jerusalem” are wedged into the wall by Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, the site’s caretaker, who also attends to cleaning the notes out when the time comes.