• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Kotel Carvings question

rosends

Well-Known Member
I believe I have asked this before, but I just got back from my trip to Israel and have a couple more pictures that might be more easily deciphered. I will post them here on the hopes that someone can read/translate them for me. These are photos I took of the stones in the kotel -- up about a third of the way:

AM-JKLVPgGnybEnBzeVUmL6Qp3Mxo2NhppHvCuYkuQa2pYoU6r2KOResNTDVL6PKQ3kuWXIOGNeHFeGZZTVCxyJXxfsVkPi6fS7vNlpUO_mJmq7syE4vtm1vE8OU5tUYQRD1H8N-j-TpPhY8uqGjGci2gYX3=w2164-h1622-no

AM-JKLWC5UzKwZjPJkP-2QcugyRIHEkWSIancvC7VLiqlh8r4VDl99cT2nCJiGUCuSnYpTGRa_A5Te9KLYjCfFB4bS760V1swOwwHNuaS9S12Fukd-kAMX799aIjFwvt9Q9OgAmpzBqRxD2miH5Cfowai_ke=w2164-h1622-no

AM-JKLVbzEkgLqT2UpQQ5YPxMrR4pxmGBH-fYkh0IHW6bR5QBHXD7y8iacL49xfcy1EVNxuli1Cn_Bod6L1Qo-iK45JUodYxaSPTqUnDyKA2erwm5-m59o8qOQjNTIy2dbmh4RmLnQvxrjeuwmbhNh12Gups=w2164-h1622-no


AM-JKLXgU5Tv86PQDOoD-tF-vz854vMlL7hX1HfXFbm3cAegLwpyfSb1eZnaY2HYaX4FL2NmQZ_9naBES0S2NbKCvAxtc7dMCiMef-OK0z2-I-XWDpgLW84VhGngTrH8CJjS1DnmuEA26Qo7QWvjn_mbGPnM=w2164-h1622-no


AM-JKLWZSdX0jSMt0K-WnFPYu6XcybbzSqy6CZwabu0BvIw3GUNrSIKEWj-BtXxR00NHIHnJzCgi_772TOAn4IxHSVk0uSGA16dRfX5icVvR2r1ence5ZXFETv4cmvYtrVoi0F6IHVQ4PrlACqFi-10jkPr8=w2164-h1622-no


AM-JKLWx_CH68qFZSj-3TfHJXalh6jMHJjsLlsGT0qVSDc1hgkDDf8gGGmczKQKVAhXGE5glBIq2SrDQ9g2vO5DaJdM0KH7YOl8devEth_mDf7teUIgS2BedcduEahMFp6h63jZG2YSeiUoDGK7GDnur-TxS=w2164-h1622-no


These shots include different angles of the same stone.

Thanks in advance.
 

Harel13

Am Yisrael Chai
Staff member
Premium Member
Second pic - last word on the top appears to be יעקב and the word on the bottom is הלוי. I only have speculations for the words there.
 

rosends

Well-Known Member
Second pic - last word on the top appears to be יעקב and the word on the bottom is הלוי. I only have speculations for the words there.
Thanks -- what bothers me is that I can't find anywhere that discusses these or anywhere to ask a rep of teh kotel.
 

Harel13

Am Yisrael Chai
Staff member
Premium Member
Thanks -- what bothers me is that I can't find anywhere that discusses these or anywhere to ask a rep of teh kotel.
I've looked for info a few times as well. Don't think I ever found anything either.
 

Harel13

Am Yisrael Chai
Staff member
Premium Member
Here's a good-quality picture from an essay by Yair Walach on Kotel inscriptions (הכותל המערבי, גבריאל ברקאי ואלי שילר (עורכים):

upload_2021-12-3_12-34-51.png


This is your second picture. As you can see, it reads יהודא דוב בן יוסף יעקב הלוי. Sadly his essay is not a comprehensive study of the inscriptions but a general look on the tradition and how it came to be banned.
 

rosends

Well-Known Member
That is a great picture (with letters that are modern looking as opposed to the more rudimentary carvings on other blocks). Does he have any discussion of who the carvers were (other than run of the mill wall builders signing their work)?
 

Harel13

Am Yisrael Chai
Staff member
Premium Member
That is a great picture (with letters that are modern looking as opposed to the more rudimentary carvings on other blocks). Does he have any discussion of who the carvers were (other than run of the mill wall builders signing their work)?
Actually, most of the writers were visitors to the Kotel. He wrote that it was customary to write on walls of special sites, such as Mearat Hamachpelah, Kever Rachel and the Kotel. In the 30's the custom was banned because it was considered to be disrespectful and a desecration of the sites, as well as having potential halachic problems.
 

Harel13

Am Yisrael Chai
Staff member
Premium Member
Here's a painting from the 19th century that depicts this being done:
upload_2021-12-3_14-42-2.png
 

rosends

Well-Known Member
Thanks -- the ones I photographed are a bit higher so I figured that the names were craved in during construction but that picture is fascinating.
 

Harel13

Am Yisrael Chai
Staff member
Premium Member
Thanks -- the ones I photographed are a bit higher so I figured that the names were craved in during construction but that picture is fascinating.
Oh. From what I know, at times the floor by the Kotel was more raised. Sometimes it was because the Kotel was simply buried under dirt and/or garbage. And that's how the higher inscriptions were made.
 
Top