A Western Wall Wailing

The Western Wall or Wailing Wall in Jerusalem is the holiest site in Judaism.  The wall dates back to the construction of the Second Temple in 19 BCE and remains the only standing remains of the holy site.

During Barack Obama’s trip to Israel on July 24th, he made a surprise stop at the Western Wall and according to Jewish tradition inserted a personal prayer into the wall.

News later broke that some Yeshiva student (who should know better) - removed Obama’s prayer from the wall and passed it off to the press. As the Rabbi in charge of the Western Wall noted; “The notes placed between the stones of the Western Wall are between a person and his maker. It is forbidden to read them or make any use of them.”

Regardless of the sin attached to this action, Obama’s prayer read as follows: 

Lord -Protect my family and me. Forgive me my sins, and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will.

Today, it was reported in the Jerusalem Post that the Yeshiva student who removed the prayer apologized.  The article notes: 

I’m sorry. It was a kind of prank,” Aleph said, his hands shaking as he fingered the tightly wadded-up sheet of King David Hotel letterhead. “I hope he wasn’t hurt. We all believe he will take the presidency.”

Channel 2’s religious affairs correspondent said she had passed the note from the yeshiva student to the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, which reinserted it - deeply - between the ancient slabs of stone.

As the story gets more complex.  Jpost reports that there is a movement to open a criminal investigation into Ma’ariv, the newspaper that published Obama’s note.  In addition, others have called for a boycott for the paper.  Following up; 

In response, a Ma’ariv spokesman said that “Barack Obama’s note was approved for publication in the international media even before he put in the Kotel, a short time after he wrote it at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. In any case, since Obama is not a Jew, publishing the note does not constitute an infringement on his right to privacy.”

The paper added that is was “pleased” with its “journalistic accomplishment.”

So the story gets more complex….