The Wall

The Western Wall.
The Wailing Wall.
Wall of stone.
Holy stones.
Sacred stones.

What sorrows they have seen.
What secrets they contain.

The Wall watched over our forefathers as they passed this way into the holy temple.
The Wall watched over our ancestors as they passed this way, driven into exile.
The Wall watched as the Romans passed this way to tear down its mighty stones.
The Wall watched as the Byzantines passed this way to plow up the sacred mountain.
The Wall watched as the Persians, the Omayyads, the Abbassids, the Crusaders, the Mamelukes, the Ottomans, the French, the British, and the Jordanians passed this way to destroy and conquer.

But today you still stand watching as we once again pass this way.

Your feet are buried beneath the rubbish and debris.
Rubbish thrown in hate.
Debris thrown with abandonment.
Remnants of civilizations long gone.

But it is the debris of the Jewish people that lies at the very bottom, and it is the Jewish people who stand on top, embracing your stones, kissing the tears you have held all these long years of exile.

Into your crevices you receive our bits of paper with our longings and hopes written upon them. Hold them dearly and watch over us, and soon we shall pass by again, into the Holy Temple.

May it speedily be rebuilt in our days.

From "The Holy Temple Revisited" by Rabbi Leibel Reznick.
Highly recommended reading.