An Awesome Sight

The days between Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, are known as the Days of Awe. During these days Jews look into what they have done during the past year and ask for forgiveness from each other and from God for any sins they may have committed. During this time of repentance an extra set of prayers called Slichot (Forgiveness) is added to the daily service.

I have never been to a Slichot service, since I do not attend synagogue regularly, but on erev erev Yom Kippur (the night before the fast starts) I experienced a truly awesome sight. I happened to be in Jerusalem that evening and a few friends invited Ariel and me to the Old City. After having dinner downtown, we headed over. Traffic on the roads was heavy and I did not understand why. As we approached the Old City by foot, I was amazed to see so many people milling about. The following day was a day off so I just thought that people were taking advantage of the free time. Then as we approached the gates of the Old City I began to realize that something more was happening.

There were throngs of people walking in the same direction that we were, towards the Western Wall. Even though it was 11:30 pm the stores were open in the Arab Quarter and everyone was trying to sell their wares as people walked by. The closer we got, the more people we saw, until we were just around the corner from our destination. Then the crowd got too big and our pace slowed to a crawl. The last few meters were elbow to elbow. All of a sudden I heard a male voice on the loudspeaker begin to sing in Hebrew.

When I turned the last corner and had the Wall in view I couldn't believe my eyes. Thousands of people were gathered. Many of them were there to pray, some of them just to observe and almost all of them Jewish. They were participating in the last Slichot service before Yom Kippur. Apparently this service continues throughout the night with different rabbis and cantors leading the masses.

My friend estimated 100,000 people present. I had never seen so many people at the Western Wall and even though I myself did not have a prayer book, I felt like I belonged there and was proud to be a part of it. With the cool Jerusalem night breeze blowing softly and the hum of the crowd praying, I felt completely at home.