Western Wall Cleaned for Passover

Image by Getty Images
Workers at the Western Wall removed the notes placed in the cracks by worshippers in advance of Passover.
The notes were removed Wednesday morning under the supervision of the rabbi of the Western Wall, Shmuel Rabinovich. They will be buried in the Mount of Olives cemetery in Jerusalem.
The Western Wall Institute also receives tens of thousands of notes through its website and by fax to be placed in the wall, the office of the Rabbi of the Western Wall said in a statement.
The notes are removed from the wall twice a year, before Rosh Hashanah and Passover, using wooden sticks dipped in the mikvah.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
