Last week, I traveled to Israel for my niece’s bat mitzvah, and as promised, I took all the notes from our “Community Western Wall” to the Western Wall in Jerusalem. For those unfamiliar, it’s a tradition to place small notes of prayer, thoughts, hopes, and requests to God in the Western Wall, regarded by many as the holiest site in Judaism. In our artistic version of the Jerusalem wall, we invited people to add their notes with the understanding that they would be brought to Israel and placed in the actual wall.
Last Friday, my husband Erik and I took on this meaningful task. We brought the 300 notes in a Ziplock bag, divided them up, and made our way to the wall, hoping it wouldn’t be too challenging to find space for so many messages. As we placed each note, we aimed to hold the “Kavanah” – the thoughtful intention or sincere feeling – that reflected the sentiments of the writers. These were messages written to God, and we felt the weight of that deeply.
What I hadn’t anticipated was how moving this experience would be for us. Being entrusted with this responsibility, connecting our community in such a meaningful way, was profoundly touching. As I leaned my head against the stones, I felt grateful for the opportunity to be part of this project and to bring a piece of our community’s heart to Israel.
