Large Segment of Stone Fall from Western Wall

For the first time in memory, a significant segment of a large rock dislodged itself from Jerusalem’s Western Wall, Judaism’s most sacred spot, and fell onto an area designated for mixed (men and women) prayer. One woman escaped harm at the site which was sparsely attended at the time of the incident. How the builders were able to maneuver such massive rocks in building the walls has always been a mystery and added to the reverence of the site. But rocks dislodging and falling is unheard of. That it occurred a short time after the area was filled with worshippers observing Tisha B’Av, the commemoration of the destruction of the First and Second Temple was not lost on the spiritually-minded. The area, known as “Ezrat Yisrael” has been closed while engineers inspect the holy site.