You know the drill; when you land in Israel as a tourist, you head to the Kotel. But speak to people who live in Israel and you’ll find that just like olim don’t drink iced coffee each day after making aliyah, most also don’t go to the Kotel regularly. Regular life in Israel is busy; not everyone lives close by, the parking situation isn’t easy, and Sunday is a regular work day.
But despite this, when we made aliyah nearly five years ago, I made the decision to attempt once a month Kotel visits, because I did not like the idea of having to tear kriya for not seeing the Makom haMikdash in more than 30 days if I could easily make the drive to the Mamila parking lot in 35 minutes.
Baruch Hashem, I’ve been able to keep this commitment, and while it’s just something that is part of my calendar now, I also realize that it’s been such an anchor in my life.
Each month, the Kotel plaza looks different from the one before as there is constant excavation and construction happening, an incredible sign of each incremental step coming closer to the Geulah. (The only thing that seemingly stays the same is the Kotel elevator that has been under construction for the past 20 years; it will surely be the sign of Mashiach when it is finally completed.) Similarly, each month is a chance to reflect on the last time I touched the cool stones; where I was, what I davened for at that time and what has changed since then. It reminds me that Hashem always has His ways of making things work out.
While not every visit is earth-shattering, I often come back refreshed and grounded, if not elated. It is truly amazing to think that Ground Zero of kedusha is just a drive away and accessible whenever I need it.
It isn’t always easy to find the time. I work full-time and that has meant that my personal commitment has become one that is filled in when I can, on a Motzaei Shabbat with my husband, on my day off with a friend, by myself for some moments of solitude, or with thousands of Am Yisrael for special events. My husband and I always go for Slichot, Birkat Kohanim on the chagim, Chanukah, the Rikud Degalim on Yom Yerushalayim and for the ebbing of Tisha b’Av. While these were initially family trips, as my kids get older, they are sometimes not as eager to be dragged on these early morning trips, to be squished in large crowds or to go on a summer fast day. I am careful not to push it as I think it’s important for everyone to make their own relationship with the Kotel. However, I think that seeing what a value it is for me has had an impact on them. It’s provided for great one-on-one bonding time with my kids when they decide to come with me.
Over the course of the five years, there have been some moments that have stuck out, like that first visit to the Kotel in the shock of the week after Oct. 7, when it was nearly empty but Har Herzl (cemetery) was full. Or last Wednesday’s visit when the Kotel had been closed throughout the war with Iran due to the security situation (unless you were Netanyahu praying for Trump). The Kotel “happened” to re-open on the “30th day of the month” (30 days from Yom Yerushalayim!) and I had the amazing opportunity to visit with my daughter and thank Hashem for the miracles we had experienced firsthand.
With the eradication of so many of our enemies over the course of the past year in a way that no one could have anticipated, I can only hope that next month, when I descend the steps for Chodesh Av, I will see the Beit HaMikdash gleaming behind the Kotel.
It might even happen before the elevator is completed.
