On the Path to Holiness: Jerusalem's Jews Share Their Journeys to the Western Wall

Rabbi Zeev Katznelbogen (48) cannot forget the morning he witnessed a brutal terror attack up close, which took the life of Eliyahu Kay, of blessed memory. It happened about a year and a half ago. Katznelbogen, who lives in the Old City—and has made the Western Wall his 'synagogue' for the last twenty years—was on his way home from morning prayers, adorned with his *tallit* and *tefillin*.

Halfway through, Rabbi Katznelbogen realized, to his horror, that he had walked directly into the line of fire of a terrorist who had murdered Eliyahu Kay and injured another person. "The second injured person was left paralyzed in his lower body. I was only slightly injured. I don't know what merit saved me almost unharmed from this difficult event," he says emotionally. "I felt a kind of 'embrace' from above, especially since the bullet went through the *tefillin* and came out the other side. I was injured in my hand, but it was mild. I felt that the *tefillin* were protecting me".

Rabbi Katznelbogen remembers every detail of that dreadful day. "I entered the market street—the area of the attack. A moment before, nothing was happening there, and everything seemed completely calm, and a second after I entered, the place turned into a scene of terror. Initially, there was a loud noise of gunfire, and afterward, I saw blurry figures in front of me, and—most horrifyingly—bullets whizzing around me, exploding in the air.

"I immediately understood it was an attack. Even before I began to fear, the divine providence led me to stand beside an alleyway at the beginning of the attack, which I could run into. From there, I continued running away from the shooter who was firing while moving, turned around, and returned towards the Wall, entering the 'Yeshiva of Netiv Aryeh' nearby, where I found shelter. Eventually, security and rescue forces arrived".

The forces that arrived at the scene immediately recognized that Katznelbogen was injured. They bandaged him and, fearing severe injury, even performed a tourniquet. Meanwhile, he made it to the Wall to recite 'Psalm of Thanksgiving' for his rescue and was quickly taken to the hospital. Here he shares an experience that can only happen in the Old City of Jerusalem: "I spoke with my wife on the phone and updated her that I was being rushed to the hospital, but the Old City was blocked due to protocol in case of attacks in the area. Soldiers did not allow her to enter, even after she told them her husband was injured in the event... So she made a detour and went through the Jewish Quarter—the safer route—joining me at the hospital".

Did you consider stopping your visits to the Western Wall afterward?

"On the contrary, since then, I have one more place of prayer and thanks along the way—the attack site, where I mention the miracles of Hashem every morning. It's a special area that offers a view of the Temple Mount. Now I truly feel the scripture 'Enter His gates with thanksgiving,' and since then, there's not a day I don't pass by there and recite a 'Psalm of Thanksgiving.' In essence, I experienced a miracle, and this miracle significantly enhanced my bond with Hashem. In fact, I was released from the hospital by the next afternoon, and right after, my family and I went down to the site to bless Hashem for the great miracle".

Have you encountered any other nationalist incidents on your way to the Wall?

"Actually, no," replies Katznelbogen, "not even minor ones. People living in the Quarter live their regular lives like everyone else; it's not something stressful. However, we have the Western Wall right next to us, the house of Hashem, and that's an elevated feeling.

"Unlike elsewhere," he compares his daily approach to the Western Wall to places "where there is open internet communication and places where this possibility is blocked. We at the Wall feel that it's a place always open before Hashem, as written about the Wall 'My eyes and my heart will be there always,' and in 'Pirqei d'Rabbenu Eliezer' it's written that anyone who prays there, it's as if they prayed before the Seat of Glory. To be in such a place and know that all prayers in the world reach this place—it's an elevated feeling that motivates me to go every morning to Hashem's house".

Katznelbogen surprises by sharing that he arrived in the Old City directly from Petah Tikva. "I grew up in a bourgeois town in central Israel, but my dream was always to live near the Wall. Since age 14, I planned how I would live there, and then I met my Rabbi, Rabbi Yitzhak Shlomo Zilberman, who also gave spiritual meaning to this place and ingrained in me the feeling of closeness to God present in the area. When I got married, it was clear to my wife and me that we would move to the Old City at some point, and about two decades ago, my dream came true, and I arrived in the Old City, and since then I'm a regular at the Western Wall".

Abraham Shaul Foah is not a resident of the Old City, but that doesn't stop him from reaching it almost every day. Like Rabbi Katznelbogen, he also lives in East Jerusalem: above the Mount of Olives, at Beit Orot. He travels daily to his learning area near the Western Wall on a scooter and speaks of no fear. "It's a very exciting feeling to walk in this place, where our prophets and kings David and Solomon walked. When it’s written 'One should not lighten his head towards the east,' I feel a sense of the reverence of the sanctuary".

Is there fear?

"I laugh when people ask me if it's scary. Is it scary? Depends on who you ask. Like any place in our country that could suddenly become a site of terror. The question is, do you trust God and feel secure in your path, then nothing scares you. Although there have been sporadic events I've encountered, like rioters shouting at me as I walk to the Western Wall, but once I made it clear that I wasn’t afraid—they were the ones who eventually ran away".

He claims real physical encounters are rare. Only one event is remembered from the past, but nothing more.

Lynch in Front of Cameras

Ephraim Shachor tries to regularly reach the Wall. He sometimes walks, sometimes drives there. In one incident when he drove around the Old City, an entire crowd watched his ride in horror.

This happened during the events throughout the country during ‘Guardian of the Walls’. Shachor drove near Lion’s Gate when he heard a stone hit his car. From there began a lynch event caught on camera and shook Israel. "Initially, I saw in the car mirror an Arab throwing a stone at the car, saw him continue throwing stones at me, while I couldn't escape. In front of me were cars in a typical traffic jam blocking the usual escape route. I then bypassed via the opposite lane, crossed a red light, while calling the police to report the incident. Meanwhile, his friends joined in; the stone-throwing intensified with real rocks. The car windows shattered one after another as we tried to ignore it all and simply escape the area," he describes.

"At a certain point, we arrived at a spot where we couldn't continue. I tried moving the car back and forth to prevent rioters from approaching, but they weren't deterred and clung to the car. I was at a point where I couldn't move forward. That was when the Arab rioters attacked the car from all directions. From there starts the famous footage, where we ride the concrete curb on the sidewalk before crashing into the concrete barrier. The rioters continued to approach, spraying pepper spray into the car. Despite this, we remained in the car for a few seconds, providing a sort of protection, but the rioters had already opened some of the doors, hitting us, kicking us, and throwing stones at us".

Shachor shares it happened just a short distance from a police checkpoint set up to prevent such events. "Just fifty meters away, under Dung Gate at the light near the Wall, stood police officers. Among them was one officer who acted correctly and ended the event. It was a traffic officer who ran alone into the crowd, fired into the air, and that ended the incident, as everyone fled".

What were your feelings afterward?

"During the attack itself, I felt a great indignity and anger that as Jews, in the very heart of our country, we are attacked powerlessly. It was a very difficult feeling. After the lynch attempt, I tried to return as quickly as possible to the Wall and continue to walk in those places. My instinct was to continue and be there.

"Unfortunately, the difficult feeling from the event remains, especially since most of the rioters were not arrested, only four of them. The whole event was relatively spontaneous, the Arabs who attacked us were bare-faced, in front of cameras, in broad daylight. It wasn’t hard to identify the four who were arrested, fortunately, but it’s unfortunate that the rest are still free".

What does the opportunity to pray regularly at the Western Wall mean to you?

"This place is a place we are all connected to. In fact, every Jew is commanded to pilgrimage three times a year and ascend to Jerusalem to this area. Unfortunately, we have homes, while Hashem does not. Since I live close, I feel more privileged and more responsible for the place, so I try to come as much as possible".

"The Wall is Our Heart. It’s Hashem’s House"

Rabbi Shmuel Moreno, the brother of Israel's hero Lieutenant Colonel Emanuel Moreno, of blessed memory, whose photo is banned from publication due to his operations behind enemy lines where he met his end—operates around the Western Wall through a study house he established for returnees to faith. "These are people who work in the morning and afternoon and learn with me in the evening, and I strive to bring them closer to the world of Torah through 'Derech Ami' on Mount Zion. In the afternoon, I study with them in the Ohr HaChaim Synagogue on Ohr Haim Street in the Jewish Quarter. It’s a synagogue that served the holy Ohr HaChaim. There is also a mikva he used, and even his private chamber. Hence, it’s a privilege upon privilege to be in this place," he says enthusiastically.

"There, it is our heart," he says regarding the Western Wall. "It’s the place where 'My eyes and My heart will be there all the days.' And indeed, it's also the pulse of the people. Jews of all kinds and denominations come to the Wall. It's our connection point. Luckily, I get to come to the Wall frequently as part of my activities in the area. I also get to pass by the Siloam pool on my way to the Wall, where I sometimes immerse, and from there continue to a plentiful morning minyan at the Western Wall, which has become over the years the largest minyan there."

Have you experienced tensions on your way to the sacred place?

"Certainly, there are tense times, and we feel what all of the people of Israel feel, and even daily there can be various small and marginal events. But when there’s a connection to the place, says the 'Sfat Emet'—while you desire the place, they lose their connection to it. And how is it possible not to desire this place about which it is written, 'Who renews in His goodness every day the act of Creation,' of which it was created from here, it is not just another place on the globe, it is Hashem’s house".