For Rabbi Stationed at the Western Wall, Days Filled With Inspiration

“I’m melting in this heat; I almost feel like I’m going to pass out,” says Rabbi Yosef Halperin. Jerusalem is in midst of a heat wave. I ask him if he would prefer to talk a different day, but he quickly answers that this is the way it’s going to be for a while, so we might as well do it now.

“Rabbi Yossi” is a Chabad-Lubavitch emissary in one of the most unexpected and least remote of places. Not Thailand, not Romania, not Peru, not India; he is in Israel, at the Western Wall.

“On the face of it, it’s surprising that at the Jewish people’s holiest place—where people come to pour out their hearts in prayer—there would be need for a Chabad House,” he says. “But when you realize that we’re also talking about the central place of Israeli tourism, with more than 10 million visitors a year [the number is taken from police estimates and includes repeat visits], and when you also realize that many of them do not have a religious education and don’t come with a guide who can describe the significance of the place, the need for a Chabad House becomes clear.”

He and his wife, Miri, have eight children and live in Beitar Ilit, near Jerusalem. They began their all-important mission of providing a Chabad House—with all its requisite services—in 2004.

The Halperins wanted to do outreach, and the coordinator of Chabad Houses in Israel suggested the Western Wall. “At first, we didn’t understand the need, but after he advised us to take a trip there to check out the situation, we realized the need was urgent.”

Chabad emissaries began outreach at a makeshift stand at the Wailing Wall (Kotel) more than 49 years ago, shortly after the Israel Defense Forces recaptured the Old City of Jerusalem in 1967 during the Six-Day War. But the position had not been consistently filled, and it lacked a “father figure” who could make sure that the site would be continuously staffed so that services would be provided year-round.

Wrapping tefillin in Old City Jerusalem, with Jewish access renewed as a result of the 1967 Six-Day War.

‘All Hours of the Day and Night’

“I recognized even before we came that there were non-religious Jews who needed us—just about every Jew who visits the Western Wall probably realizes that—but I never tried to do anything about it myself. Today, the situation is completely different. The wall is surrounded by people at all hours of the day and night, and with a lot of effort, we were able to raise awareness of the need for religious services even for the semi-religious communities. It turned out that there are many people, especially Chabad Chassidim, who are ready to help when they see a person in need of spiritual assistance.”

The Chabad House established by a single person now has no less than six individuals working there. They man the tefillin stand from a bit before sunrise (the earliest time for morning prayers) until the last moments before sundown. During the busy hours—from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.—there are at least four people there, each of whom speaks at a minimum one language besides Hebrew.

“Since Jews come from all over the world,” notes Halperin, “an extra language is a requirement. We can talk to people in English, French, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.”

During the long summer days, as many as 1,000 Jewish men and boys over the age of 13 put on tefillin. (Photo: Chabad of the Western Wall)

In addition to helping Jewish men and boys 13 and older don tefillin, Halperin and his helpers give thousands of people the chance to fulfill the mitzvah of hearing the shofar blown on Rosh Hashanah. During Chanukah, they hand out menorahs and candles; on Purim, they read the Megillah every half-hour. The only days of the year they aren’t there are Yom Kippur (“There is no special mitzvah on that day”) and Passover (“It’s not feasible to make a public seder there”).

And if you think that only a Chabad emissary in Nepal or Hungary has to leave his family to travel to distant places, the Halperins experience a similar challenge. Every Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, Simchat Torah and Shavuot, the rabbi and his wife packs their bags and travel to an apartment they rent in the Old City (“Each time, a different place”) so they can supervise the Chabad House. “Originally, we went together, and the children were farmed out to their grandparents for the holiday, but we quickly realized that that wasn’t good. So for the last 12 years, we’ve all been celebrating the festivals together by the wall.”

Informational brochures are given out at the stand, as well as Shabbat candles and for Chanukah, menorahs. (Photo: Chabad of the Western Wall)

What started as a part-time position has arguably become the busiest Chabad House in the world. Thousands of Jews enter the stand on an average day looking for spiritual help, physical help and everything in between. During the long summer days, as many as 1,000 of them put on tefillin. “Thanks to several kind donors, we have more than 10 sets of tefillin, and people are using them one after another. There isn’t a quiet minute.”

The Chabad House also provides kipahs, printouts of the Shema prayer in different languages, brochures describing the Seven Noahide Laws, fliers about upcoming holidays, and, of course, plenty of personal attention and love for all.

‘Religion Is Not Business’

When asked about expenses—tens of thousands of shekels are needed every year to provide these services—and the idea that payment could come from those holding the many bar mitzvah ceremonies that he helps arrange every Monday and Thursday, he responds determinedly. “One word: No! For Judaism, we don’t charge money. People come here to get close to G‑d in the place that is closest to Him; should I charge them money for it? Religion is not business!”

The expenses, he notes, are covered mainly by “generous, inspired Jews who care about us.” He says that he doesn’t put collection boxes out, so as not to give the impression that he’s doing what he does for the money. He also notes that many of the visitors are students and other young people, who are in no position to help in a financial way.

No less than six individuals speaking a variety of different languages work with Halperin. (Photo: Chabad of the Western Wall)

In addition to the priceless opportunity of giving so many Jews the chance to put on tefillin, they also have the opportunity to reach out to Jews who didn’t even know they were Jews. “There isn’t a day that we don’t help put tefillin on a Jew that never put them on before. Not just youths either; many times we’re talking about Jews who are 80 or 90 years old, some of whom came from distant countries and never set foot in a house of prayer. But besides all this, we sometimes have a chance to reach out to people who never even realized they were Jews.

“This is a place of thousands of touching stories. Many times, non-Jewish tourists come to us, curious about what we’re doing, and during the course of the conversation it becomes apparent that they themselves are Jews—the children of Jewish mothers. There have been Christian priests and Buddhists who were surprised to discover that they were Jewish. Many tears of deep emotion have been shed here. We also set up a connection, for those who want it, between the tourists and the Chabad Houses in their home towns, so that they can continue to tend to the flame that was lit in their hearts.”

Ezer Weizman, left, wraps tefillin at the Kotel; he would become president of Israel in 1993 and 1998.

A Way to Counteract Terror

Like many stories about Jerusalem, terrorism inevitably comes up. It’s something that has a direct effect on the number of people who visit the wall, especially on foot. In terms of the multiple stabbings and attacks that have occurred within the past year, the rabbi affirms that it has been a time that “wasn’t easy or simple. We saw a significant decrease in the numbers of people; they were afraid to come, due to the security situation.

“Only a couple of months ago, Rav Yisroel Lublin, one of our regular workers, was stabbed in the stomach while going through the Muslim Quarter. He was rushed to the hospital, and they managed to help him in time for him to experience a full recovery. He attributes his survival to his work at our stand, helping to draw Jews closer to G‑d. This place is so important in his eyes that the day after he was released from the hospital, he came back here to continue helping Jews reach out to G‑d.”

Very soon, visitors will also have the chance to fulfill the mitzvah of hearing the shofar blown on Rosh Hashanah. (Photo: Chabad of the Western Wall)

(Photo: Chabad of the Western Wall)

“It’s worthwhile to read what the Lubavitcher Rebbe [Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory] wrote regarding tefillin—that it has the power to instill fear and dread in our enemies,” continues Halperin. “If we would put more time and more energy into seeing to it that all Jews put on tefillin, terror would become a thing of the past.

“I call out to everyone who reads this to join in performing this great commandment—by putting on tefillin, by encouraging others to, and by helping to sponsor it in every part of the world, especially in the holy city Jerusalem, and especially here, with us, in front of the Kotel, the Western Wall, the remnant of our Holy Temple.”

(Photo: Chabad of the Western Wall)

(Photo: Chabad of the Western Wall)

(Photo: Chabad of the Western Wall)

(Photo: Chabad of the Western Wall)