Tourism Ministry invites world to send 'enote' to Western Wall
Submissions will be collected from October 19 through October 21, 2020.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFMan prays at Western Wall amid coronavirus(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
The Israel Tourism Ministry is offering to place notes in the Western Wall, as per tradition, for the thousands unable to visit amid the coronavirus pandemic.In order to submit a note, participants need only visit the Tourism Ministry's dedicated website. On the web page there is a submission form requesting the sender's name and note. After submitting, and the ministry will do the rest."It's said that if you leave a note at the Western Wall, your message and wishes will be heard," the ministry said on its website. "Well, at the moment, it's challenging to reach the Western Wall, so why don't you leave an eNOTE?""All you need to do is fill in your eNOTE below, and we will make sure to put your message personally at the Western Wall," it added.A popular tradition among Jews from Israel and abroad during this time of year is to visit the Western Wall (Kotel) in Jerusalem's Old City and insert notes with personal prayers directed to God between cracks of the wall's large ancient stones.Before the coronavirus pandemic, millions of notes would be placed in the Wall by Jews and non-Jews alike each year, who either go to the wall themselves or send their notes to the Western Wall website, by fax and even by mail.“While Israel is still closed to international travel, we wanted to create a meaningful way that people can be inspired and connect with the spiritual sites that are abundant in our country,” said the Tourism Ministry Commissioner for North America Eyal Carlin, according to Forbes."The Western Wall is an important piece of Jewish tradition, and it also attracts travelers from all faiths,” Carlin added. "We want to make it accessible for those who aren’t able to visit [Israel] in person right now, so we created a portal for people to send their personal notes. We will print them, put them in the Kotel and create a video we will share with all those who submit."Submissions will be collected from October 19 through October 21, 2020."“We have just come through a time of introspection and reflection,” Carlin concluded, according to Forbes. “We felt that inviting people from all over the world, regardless of faith or religion, to start the new year with personal thoughts and prayers to be delivered to the Western Wall would be very meaningful, especially now since tourists are not currently able to visit Israel because of COVID-19.”
