Jerusalem is a large city, boasting approximately 840,000 residents~and then there are the tourists! Although there are many sites to see, the most popular is of course the Old City and within that, the Kotel or Western Wall.

When Herod was made king in Jerusalem he began a huge renovation of the Temple Mount, that consisted of flattening the peak and building four supporting walls around it. The western support wall is what we now know as the Kotel, Western Wall or Wailing Wall. It’s uniqueness is due to the fact of its close proximity to the Holy of Holies in the former Temple. For Jews, this is their Holiest site.

Every day you will see men and women praying in the plaza that extends from the wall. There are also public prayers on the High Holy Days, and Jews from around the world come to the Wall to celebrate weddings, Bar Mitzvahs and Bat Mitzvahs (coming of age) and other Simchas (celebrations).

In the video below, our Vistas crew were in the Old City when they came across a parade of people. They were singing and dancing their way through the streets to the Western Wall. The celebration was for a Bar Mitzva. You can see the young boy walking under a Chupah (a cloth, usually a prayer shawl, tied to four poles carried by friends or family). Everyone, young and old, joins the celebration!