“And as some were speaking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and consecrated offerings, He said, As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left a stone upon a stone which will not be thrown down.” (Luke 21:5-6)
The Second Temple was completely destroyed by the Romans in 70AD, as Jesus prophesied in Luke 21. The Western Wall (Wailing Wall) in the Old City of Jerusalem now was originally erected as part of the expansion of the Second Jewish Temple begun by Herod the Great, which resulted in the encasement of the natural, steep hill known as the Temple Mount, in a large rectangular structure topped by a huge flat platform, thus creating more space for the Temple itself and its auxiliary buildings.
The Western Wall is considered holy due to its connection to the Temple Mount. Because of the Temple Mount entry restrictions, the Wall is the holiest place where Jews are permitted to pray. From the early 18th century, it has become a custom that people place slips of paper containing written prayers to God into the cracks of the Western Wall. Over a million notes are placed each year. The notes are collected twice a year and buried on the nearby Mount of Olives.
『有人談論聖殿是用美石和供物裝飾的，耶穌就說，你們所看見的這一切，將來日子到了，沒有一塊石頭留在石頭上，不被拆毀的。』 (路加福音21:5-6)
第二聖殿於公元七十年完全被羅馬人毀了，如耶穌所豫言，沒有一塊石頭留在石頭上，現今剩下的西牆是為聖殿所建的平台其中一面的擁壁。因為耶路撒冷是群山環繞的城市，聖殿山平坦的部分有限。所羅門建造第一聖殿時規模沒有那麼大，但希律王擴建第二聖殿的時候，他先用兩年在山上整出平地來，之後再蓋擁壁牆和平台，西牆就是屬於西面的擁壁牆。
西牆又稱哭牆，是耶路撒冷參觀人次最多的景點，全年無休24小時免費開放。同時，因為以色列政府禁止非伊斯蘭教徒在聖殿山金頂寺禱告 (怕引爆宗教衝突)，哭牆也是猶太人唯一能合法禱告的地方，根據猶太傳統男女分區，在男界區必須戴頂帽子，女界區不需要戴帽子或蒙頭，但禁止穿無袖或低領。西牆牆縫塞滿小紙條，是當地人或遊客寫給神的話。
Source: https://www.facebook.com/kokiahouse/posts/2376903262564167
