More than a million notes are placed in The Western Wall each year, and legend, or Wikipedia, says the tradition dates back to the 18th century. From the everyday tourist to the highest of dignitaries, thousands of people who visit the holiest site in Jerusalem leave their prayers behind in the cracks of the wall.
Millions of words of hope, love, and truth fill up the the holy site, and twice a year, the wall needs to be cleared to make room for more. The notes are treated as holy text and about 100 bags per cleaning are buried in the ground at the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Before Passover and Rosh Hashana, both holidays steeped in traditional values to refresh and cleanse, a crew gathers with specially blessed wooden sticks to clear the Western Wall of these notes.
As Passover approaches, the Jews commemorate the slavery they endured in ancient Egypt and celebrate their liberation under the leadership of Moses. With their newfound freedom, they journeyed to Canaan, the promised land, where the ancestors of the Jewish people, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, once lived before they moved to Egypt.
Passover kicks off on Monday, and Jews worldwide prepare for eight days of unleavened bread and family meals. Every year, the tradition to share the Passover story is to remind and teach the younger generation of the true hardships which existed back in the day.
