The+Kotel+(Western+Wall)+Tunnels

toc Picture from Aish Hatorah- http://www.aish.com/seminars/tunneltours/entrance.asp

By: Orit Derovan and Avigayil Maisel

=__Research question__=

What is the history of the development of the Kotel Tunnels?

=__**Rationale**__=

The Kotel is a very important and sacred place for us as Jews and so is the history of the Kotel and the whole Temple in general. It interested us to learn about the history and the development of this holy place because of the different things that happened there and the ways it was built. The stories behind the Tunnels are varied and exciting and it is interesting to learn about them.

=__**The Return to Zion – The Second Temple era**__=

In 538 BCE, a declaration by King Cyrus of Persia, who had conquered Babylon, permitted the exiles to return to Jerusalem. 50,000 Jews set out on the First Return to the Land of Israel. Less than a century later, the Second Return was led by the towering figures of Ezra the Scribe and Nehemiah. It was during the "Persian Period" that the Second Temple was built. As the leader and governor of Jerusalem, Nehemiah required every family in Judah to send ten of its members to live in Jerusalem, and by doing this, enlarging the city's small population. Nehemiah's great project was to rebuild the walls and fortify the city. The events that marked the beginning of the Second Temple period were: 1.The return of the Jews to their homeland under Ezra and Nehemiah's inspired leadership 2. The construction of the Second Temple on the site of the First [|Temple] and, 3. The strengthening of Jerusalem's walls and establishment of the //Knesset Hagedolah// (Great Assembly) as the supreme religious and judicial body of the Jewish people. Within the confines of the Persian Empire, Judah was a nation centered in [|Jerusalem] whose leadership was entrusted to the high council of elders. Following the death of Alexander the Great, who in 333 BCE had defeated the Persian Empire, his empire split into three kingdoms each ruled by one of it’s generals. At first, Jerusalem and the rest of the country came under Ptolemaic Egypt, and was then passed on to the Seleucid Syrians. Hellenistic culture, an amalgam of Greek and early eastern cultures, grew dominant under the Seleucids. Antiochus IV (175-163 BCE) declared Jerusalem a Greek "polis", "Antiochia of Jerusalem." Soon after, in 168 B.C.E., the Hasmonean uprising started by Judah Maccabee broke out. Jerusalem was liberated and the Temple was purified and restored as the people's spiritual center. The king-priests Hasmoneans, ruled from this Temple for many years. During the first generation of Hasmonean rule, Jerusalem was still a small city, but soon, Jerusalem expanded westward to surround the Upper city. The second temple was finally destroyed by the Roman’s in 70 C.E.

=__**The Herodian Construction**__=

In 37 B.C.E. great ambition and high-level plotting brought to power Herod Antipater, under Roman support. Herod decided that the Temple complex was still too small and came up with a new plan meant to raise the Temple so visitors from the city would physically feel that they had to rise in order to reach the Temple. For this, he built a huge platform, which was placed on the natural hills. In order to get a flat surface, he built arches to fill in the space between the hills//.// During King Herod's time in power (37- 4 B.C.E.) Jerusalem grew northward. massive building projects included the Second Wall, the expansive and amazing Temple Mount and the Antonia Fortress. Many palaces as well as public buildings, such as markets and theaters, improved the city. The people of Judea, who at the beginning of his rule were in good economic condition, were downcast to the ground and turned miserable poor. Herod’s main palace in Jerusalem, the seat of his government is what is now the area of Jaffa Gate. North of the Temple Mount he enlarged a fortress built by Hyrcanus, remaining Fortress Anmtonia in honor of his Roman donor. He built a palace at Masada, another Jericho, and the Herodium at Bethlehem. The large coastal city, Caesarea, popular with tourists today, was another of his works, dedicated to Agustus Caesar. Herod built a great building over the cave of Abraham at Hebron. To this day many Herodian ruins are extant in Israel. Nearly all of Herod’s grandiose building programs were intended to impress foreigners in and around Israel. His ambitious program of the Temple Mount was the one exeption of the rule. Nearly 600 years after the Second Temple had been dedicated, Herod determined to transfor the magnificence of Solomon’s Temple to the existing structure to his own honor and glory of course. Many Jews who heard of Herod’s plans were shocked. They feared he would destroy the old structure of the Temple and not build a new one. However, Herod was sincere. He prepared all the building materials in advance before beginning to work in 19 or 20 B.C.E. Some 10,000 to 18,000 work men were employed to build Herod’s new design. The major work occurred in the first three years although the workers continued improvements there for many years, well beyond Herods death in 4 B.C.E. – 64 C.E. ( just 4 years before it was to be destroyed by Titus). Herod’s work more than doubled the size of the Temple building. The Temple Mount itself was also greatly expanded to a plaza area measuring about 2,575 by 985 feet, with eight gates.

= =

**The Herodian chiseled design:**
The lower layer of stone in the western wall remained from Herod’s reconstruction of the second Temple. One of the characteristics of these stones is called the “Herodian Signature”, which is the even recessed edge of the stone blocks. The craftsmen who finished off these stone blocks chiseled the stone from the edge inward. The marks of the chisels can be seen to this day. The central area of the stone block was smoothed using a special hammer, which often left a slightly raised edge along the inside of the Herodian Signature. The Herodian stones can also be recognized by their size, being of much greater length, width and depth than stones from later periods. This style of stone making is exclusive to the Herodian period. The stones of the Kotel are not placed one on top of the other. Rather, each layer of stone was recessed two centimeters from the layer below. In the end the wall looks very sturdy and flat, even though the walls of the Temple Mount incline somewhat. This can be observed when looking at one of the corners formed by the Temple Mount walls.

=__**Exposing the Kotel (Western Wall) Tunnels:**__=

In the nineteenth century, the most distinguished Jerusalem explorers were already trying to determine the exact measurements of the Western Wall and describe the methods used in its construction. However, their information was incomplete, mainly because they were unable to discover the wall's entire length. Despite this, British researchers Charles Wilson, in 1864 and Charles Warren, in 1867-1870, uncovered the northern extension of the Western Wall Prayer Plaza. The shafts that Charles Warren dug through Wilson's Arch can be seen today. In 1968, immediately after the Six Day War, the Ministry of Religious Affairs began the project of exposing the entire length of the Western Wall. It was a difficult operation, which involved digging beneath residential neighborhoods that had been constructed on ancient structures from the Second Temple period and were built up against the Western Wall. Some residents used underground spaces as water holes or for sewage collection. The diggings required close supervision by experts in the fields of structural engineering, securing under ground tunnels, archeology, and of course, Jewish guidance. After almost twenty years, and despite large difficulties, the Western Wall Tunnels were revealed. This long project discovered many archeological finds. These finds revealed new and unknown details about the history and the geography of the Temple Mount site. Due to the somewhat fragile nature of the Western Wall and its surroundings and the complexity of the diggings, the “Western Wall Heritage Foundation” were carried out with great caution and under constant rabbinic and scientific supervision. Therefore, slowly but surely, a magnificent Jerusalem from over 2,000 years ago was rediscovered. The archeologists were faced with complicated engineering problems, such as maintaining the stability of the structures above them while ensuring that the courses of Western Wall stones that had been uncovered would not be damaged in any way. Little by little, they uncovered genuine treasures. As time went on, the tunnels became a time tunnel, transporting anyone in them to Jerusalem, in the first century C.E., and the greatest days in the history of the city. They found long rows of carved stone that were well preserved. There were also remains of the Herodian road which ran alongside the Temple Mount, ancient cisterns, impressive construction efforts from the Muslim era, and a Hasmonean period aqueduct that had been blocked by Herod’s construction of the Western Wall. All of these amazing windows to the past can be seen at the Western Wall Tunnels. Opening the tunnels to the public required complicated and unique engineering and safety solutions to allow safe and enjoyable access. It was a long process, which included the development of walking paths, air conditioning, signs and lighting, and insuring that the site is wheelchair accessible and can accommodate visitors with disabilities. Audio/visual aids were developed and guides were trained to help visitors explore the mysteries of the Tunnels. The work is far from completed. Much more still lies hidden than has been revealed at the foot of the Temple Mount.

=**__Conclusion__**=

This research project answered the question of what was the history of the development of the Kotel Tunnels. This project contributed greatly to our knowledge about the most holy place to the Jews nowadays. We enjoyed writing this project and learning more about the history of the Kotel – the Western Wall. As a result of our research, we discovered that after the Babylonian exile, the return of the Jews to their homeland under Ezra and Nehemiah's inspired leadership, and the construction of the Second Temple, marked the beginning of the Second Temple era. The Second Temple was built by Nehemiah and the people who returned to "Zion” (Israel). About 500 years later, Herod the Great decided that the Temple complex was still too small and came up with a new plan meant to raise the Temple, enlarge it, and renovate it. The “Herodian Signature” is a certain chiseled design Herod workers used on the renovated stones. These stones can be seen in the Tunnels until this day. Charles Willson and Charles Warren had began to discover the remains of the Western Wall. The Ministry of Religious Affairs began a project to expose the entire length of the Western Wall immediately after the Six Day War. Today the Kotel Tunnels are opened for visitors and tourists. They are fit for visitors with disability’s and are equipped with audio and visual guides besides the tour guides who are constantly busy giving tours.

=**__Bibliography__**=

Dovid, Avrahom. "Kotel Tunnels ." __Photo Gallery__. 2003. Third Temple and/or Avrahom Dovid. 15 Apr 2007 <[|http://www.thirdtemple.com/KotelTunnels/gallery.htm>.] "Exposing the Western Wall Tunnels." __The Kotel__. The Western Wall Heritage Foundation. 15 Apr 2007 <[|http://english.thekotel.org/content.asp?id=116>.] "The Return to Zion." __Jewish Virtual Library__. 2007. American Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. 11 Apr 2007 <[|http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/return.html>.] Schaalje, Jacqueline. "The Temple and The Western Wall Tunnel ." __The Jewish Magazine__ Oct. 2000. 12.03.07 <[|http://www.jewishmag.com/36MAG/tunnels/tunnels.htm>.] "Second Temple Period (536 BCE -- 70 AD)." __The Jerusalem Mosaic__. 2002. Snunit. 11 Apr 2007 <[|http://jeru.huji.ac.il/ec1.htm>.] rtl
 * בהט, דן. מנהרות הכותל. ירושלים: משרד הבטחון, 2003.**

rtl =**__The meaning of living in a Jewish state today - Orit Derovan:__**=

My state, my community, my people, my beliefs. All of these things are parts of the meaning of being a Jew in the State of Israel. Israel is the only state that a Jew can not worry about showing his religion in public. It’s the only state were Jews can protect themselves with their on army. An army that will protect its country at any cost. An army that at the same time of war and cruelty is a morel army. For over 2000 years there was never one place, one state were Jews can live in large communities and celebrate holidays. Jews around the world always lived in fear of people hurting them and hating them because of who they are- because their Jews. And now we live in our own state were we can celebrate our holidays in public. For exc. On Hanika we can display our hanukiot in our windows without any fear. In our Jewish State now, we have a democratic government people have freedom of speech to say what they feel. Although not all of the laws in Israel obey the Jewish law, most of them do. This fact make us indevidgel from the rest of the world. We can have a fare trial by our own Jewish laws. Jewish laws come from the bible, like everything else we believe in. The Bible is our heritage, In it our ansisters were promised this land and this future. I see our lives today, as fulfillment of that promise from g-d to our ansisters. We must be proud to be Jews, and we must be thankful to have all of the benefits of living in a Jewish state with our Jewish brothers.

=__**The meaning of living in a Jewish state today - avigayil maisel:**__=

Living in Israel has a lot of different meanings and to each person living here means something else. For some people it’s the fact that the Jews have their own state, for others it’s having the land G-D promised us. But one thing that every Israeli feels is that whoever lives here us sacrificing something, and for many they lose their lives. The fact that so many people lost their lives fighting for our country in war or even dying על קידוש ה' (for a holy purpose – the ability for Jews to live as Jews in their homeland) in terror attacks is a very general feeling in Israel but when it hits you, it’s a whole different feeling. Almost every person knows someone who was killed in a terrorist attack and yet, when it is someone close to you, it means something else. About four years ago, a suicide bomber got on the number 14 bus in town and blew himself up. My uncle Alan Beer was on that bus on his way back from visiting his friend who was sitting “Shiva”. He had grown up in the U.S.A and had died, because he came to live in the Jewish State, in Israel. Since then, “Memorial Day” means more to me, people dying means more to me because I know the feeling their family and friends feel. I hope the situation will change and it will be safe to live here because here, in Israel is where all Jews should live and should want to live.

=attachments= A Virtual Tour of the Tunnels - http://english.thekotel.org/VirtualTour.asp Photo Gallery - http://english.thekotel.org/Gallery.asp?GalleryId=12&PageId=224 A tour of the Kotel Tunnels - http://www.aish.com/seminars/tunneltours/