Armed with wooden poles, Kosel employees today removed millions of kvitlach – handwritten notes, faxes and email printouts – from between the ancient stones. The Western Wall Heritage Foundation, which gives the Kosel such a face-lift twice a year – before Rosh Hashanah and before Pesach – are actually considering a third annual clean-up, due to the growing influx of kvitlach.
The kvitlach will be placed in a repository in accordance with halacha, with the laborers – working under the supervision of Kosel rov Rav Shmuel Rabinovich – taking care to not read their content.
Engineers will conducted tests to determine the stability of the stones so that none are in the risk of falling on the mispalelim below.
{Yair Alpert-Matzav.com Israel}
