WARNING LIFE IN ISRAEL 1111111111111111111111111•111 THESE PREMISES PROTECTED BY 6 IL_ BE A WINNER, PLAY THE CLASSIFIEDS Call The Jewish News Today 354-6060 THC 23 SHOPPING DAYS OF Lk MIRAGE La Mirage presents the 23 shopping days grand giveaway. Just stop in at any one of the fine shops and fill out an entry form to win all 23 fabulous prizes. Drawing date is Valentine's Day, Feb. 14th. No purchase necessary. The "Kotel," or Western Wall, in Jerusalem: where do all those messages go? MARGUERITES TOP FIT One Of Western Wall's Mysteries Is Solved $25.00 Alterations Certificate NORGRAFIC Art Table THE MATERNITE CORNER Sasson Bag CARL ALPERT THE WILLOW TREE $100 Gift Certificate Special to The Jewish News H DAVID R Bjorn Borg Men's Outfit MARGUERITES PRIMADONNA Black Beaded Bag -29 UNIQUE LEATHER Eel Skin Portfolio EDD'S BARBER SHOP Barber Cut & Style TRAVEL BAZAAR INNOWS $50.00 Towards Any Travel/Trip 31 MARGUERITES BOUTIQUES 2 Bonnie & Bill Sweater IRVING'S RESTAURANT Dinner for Two at Home DYNASTY JEWELERS Gold Earrings 3 4 5 LA NEIGE European Pedicure & Paraffin BARRY'S SHOES FOR TOTS 8 TEENS Fila Sport Shoes LINDA HAYMAN GALLERY Randee Goldsmith paper sculpture 6 ENCORE III Designer Stationery & Frame JORJET Imported sweater VACATION SUN TANNING Complete Suntanning Package MAILBOXES, ETC. USA Red Barn Mailbox PREFERRED FLOOR COVERING/ TUT'S BLIND AMBITION $100 Towards Carpeting 48"x48" Mini Blind MOP SHOP SALON European Cut and Style 12 14 13 ART POSTER CO. loday's the Ed Cota Framed Poster QUINTESSENCE Dayl Trotting Bag DRAWING DATE k 10 Nara r THE CURE OR THC COMMON MU 29555 Northwestern Hwy., Southfield, MI 48034 Merchants, their families, mall employees, advertising agency employees and their families are ineligible. Friday, January 30, 1987 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS aifa — An enterpris- ing and curious jour- nalist in Israel has at last cleared up a mystery of many years standing regard- ing the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The information which he has uncovered will no doubt answer a question which many visitors to the Wall have long asked. Despite some popular mis- conceptions, the Wall was never a part of the holy Tem- ple. Rather, it was one of the retaining walls, built by Herod to hold up the large, man-made plateau on which the Temple was constructed. Aside from the sanctity attached to the general area, as the site of the Temple, no particular religious importance was attached to the Wall, and it was barely men- tioned in religious or travel- lers' accounts until about the 16th Century. At about that time, the records show, the ac- cumulated refuse and rubbish which had piled up and obstructed much of the Wall was removed, and Jews began to make it a site for pilgrim- ages at which they mourned the destruction of the Temple — hence the name, Wailing Wall, which has been dis- carded since its liberation by Israel in 1967. At that time Israel dug away further debris, and revealed an additional two layers of stone, making the Wall appear to stand even higher. Tests have shown that there are more layers further down, but it has been decided not to risk the stability of the Wall by further excavation. Over two million people, Is- raelis and tourists, visit the Wall each year, to gaze at it, to pray there, or to hold religious ceremonies. The space before the Wall has been converted into a large prayer area, with all the attributes of a synagogue, hence the separa- tion of the sexes there. Mour- ners recite their kaddish, and boys celebrate their bar mitzvah at the Wall. Tradition through the cen- turies has endowed prayer ut- tered at the Wall with particu- lar efficacy, and it has become customary for visitors to tuck little notes of special request into the crevices of the Wall. Visiting dignitaries, Jew and non-Jew alike, ambassadors, movie stars, industrialists, vie with the common people in placing their messages into the Wall on the principle that if it won't help, at least it won't hurt. What do they ask for? There is an intimacy about these ap- peals to God, and no one pries, but it is generally understood that the written memos (some are occasionally typed out in advance), are prayers for good health for self or loved ones, wishes for business success, for domestic harmony, for job se- curity, for children (from child- less families), requests for help in winning grand lottery prizes, entreaties for peace, for victory by a favorite sports team, for a good grade in exam- inations — the list is endless. The scraps of paper bear many languages, for God under- stands all tongues. Scores, hundreds, thousands of the jottings are jammed and squeezed into every chink and nook and cranny of the stone wall, yet there always seems to be room for more. And the big question, frequently thought but seldom asked openly, has been: what happens to all these notes? One credulous woman has suggested that eventually they all get to heaven, where Continued on page 12 <