Water Phenomenon Appears In Jerusalem's Western Wall
[Original headline: Water on Western Wall causes confusion, excitement]
The Antiquities Authority will be keeping a close watch on the small damp spot in the center of the Western Wall that was discovered a few days ago. Jerusalem district archaeologist Gon Zeligman said the spot in question measured some 30 cm x 10 cm, at a height of around 15 meters from the ground, in the men's worshiping area.
Zeligman proposed a number of causes for the damp, including a burst underground water pipe on the other side of the Wall, on the Temple Mount, or the excess use of water for unknown purposes in the area behind the Wall.
Zeligman does not believe that the source of the water is one of the wells on the Temple Mount. "The wells are dry during this season of the year and are not close to the area of the Wall," he noted.
At this stage, he said, officials from the authority will be monitoring the water mark to see whether it grows or shrinks.
The report on the damp spot has caused excitement among a number of religious circles because tradition has it that prior to Tisha B'Av, the day of the destruction of the two temples, the Wall weeps.
The rabbi of the Western Wall, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, told Ha'aretz yesterday that at the request of the Religious Affairs Ministry, the Waqf had looked into the cause of the damp in the Wall, but had revealed nothing. "The Waqf did not find the reason for the water coming from the Wall," he said, noting that the water was coming out of the middle of one of the stones and not from between the stones.
"Many hundreds of people are coming to the Wall to look at a phenomenon for which I have no explanation," the rabbi said. "I am not a mystic, but if no logical reason for this is found, I will also start to believe that perhaps it is a sign of the approaching redemption, in accordance with one of the most ancient traditions. Never in all my years as rabbi of the Wall have I witnessed such interest on the part of the public around this place."
• Story originally published by:
Ha'aretz / Israel | Nadav Shragai - July 04.02
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