The tons of dairy products prepared in honor of the festival of Shavuot
including a lot of blintzes and cheese cake are all gone.
Thousands of holiday visitors from all over the world have returned home.
The extra chairs for the festival ctrowds in the plaza near the Kotel, the Western Wall are stored
and the temporary emergency locations closed.
The variety of clothing, religions and languages was fascinating as always.
Many of the visitors for the festivals wrote a note to leave in the Wall.
The white between the stones are paper notes,
usually written on little pieces of paper that fill every crack,
written standing or
sitting.
Reaching for a good spot
to find a safe place, high above the crowd.
And what happens to these notes?
Warning: The following is not for the sentimental or weak-hearted.
Cleaners sweep up
and unceremoniously
remove the precious notes to a special yellow plastic bag.
Almost three months of various celebrations came to an end and
this week a new festival season begins, with International Sports Week,
the Israel Festival,
and many more.
The fine print says,
Something good is happening in Jerusalem!
Your characterization of what happens to the notes in the Wall is a little misleading. To the best of my knowledge, the notes are periodically removed and then respectfully buried. So I had been told years ago by people who worked at the Kotel. I don’t clearly know what necessitates this (as opposed to simple disposal); but that seems to be the case.
The notes are collected separately from the regular trash, see the two bags on the cart.
Updated the word “trash” to “plastic” yellow bag; seeing them swept away is a bit jarring.