The Western Wall is sacred to Jews because it borders the Temple Mount, where the First and Second Temples stood. The Wall is not itself part of the Temple building: it is a retaining wall built to support and enlarge the Temple Mount platform. Its proximity to the former sanctuary, together with centuries of Jewish prayer there, gives the place its religious meaning.
The Temple Mount and the sanctuary
In Jewish scripture, the Temple in Jerusalem was the center of sacrificial worship. The innermost chamber, the Holy of Holies, was associated with God’s presence and was entered by the High Priest on Yom Kippur. These are claims of Jewish faith and scripture, not architectural descriptions of the Western Wall.
After Rome destroyed the Second Temple in 70 CE, Jewish prayer and longing for its restoration became central to Jewish religious life. The Wall’s location beside the Temple Mount made it a place for lament, prayer and pilgrimage. Jewish liturgy preserves this attachment: the daily Amidah turns toward Jerusalem, and prayers for Jerusalem recur throughout the service. The Jewish Virtual Library’s history of the Wall describes its role as both a prayer site and a national symbol.
Tradition and the physical structure
A well-known Jewish tradition says the Divine Presence never departed from the Western Wall. The belief expresses the enduring sanctity Jews attach to the Temple site; it does not mean that the stones were part of the Holy of Holies. Archaeology identifies the Wall as a Herodian retaining structure. The Israel Antiquities Authority report on the Western Wall foundations records excavation of the structure and its setting.
Jewish law and custom have shaped prayer at the Wall in different ways over time. The plaza is outside the ancient Temple precinct, while Jewish law restricts entry to parts of the Mount because of the sanctity of the site and questions of ritual purity. For the development of access and prayer under successive rulers, see Jewish prayer at the Wall through the centuries.