Jewish Event Calendar

U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mr. David Friedman, got up from shiva for his mother and came to pray at the Western Wall.
Ambassador Friedman - We share in your grief and hope all your prayers are answered.
May the Omnipresent comfort you among the rest of the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

150,000 people visited the Western Wall during the Shabbat preceding Tisha B’av (Shabbat Chazon) and on the fast of Tisha B’Av itself.

Over the last several days, common foxes have been spotted at the southern part of the Western Wall. After consultation with the National Parks and Reserves Authority, it seems that these foxes tend to roam in desolate areas. The Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, referred to photos of the foxes and commented, “One cannot refrain from crying at the site of the fulfillment of the prophecy of “foxes will walk on it” as Tisha B’Av is approaching. We, students of Rabbi Akiva’s remember how he consoled his friends when he saw something similar soon after the destruction of the Temple. “Until the prophecy of Uriah with regard to the destruction of the city was fulfilled I was afraid that the prophecy of Zechariah (of consolation) would not be fulfilled, as the two prophecies are linked. Now that the prophecy of Uriah was fulfilled, it is evident that the prophecy of Zechariah remains valid.”
The sages answered him, as will we,”Akiva, you have comforted us”
May it be G-d’s will that just as we have been privileged to see what Rabbi Akiva and his friends saw, so we will be privileged to see what Rabbi Akiva promised his friends, speedily and in our days, Amen.

Join us for a live broadcast on the Kotel webcams starting about an hour after Shabbat, and on our Facebook page at about midnight (Israel time).