Photo Every Day 2026

On the day that we got to Israel, we went to the Western Wall (partly to see it, and partly to just be active and not let jet lag overtake us).

The Western Wall in Jerusalem is the last visible remnant of the retaining wall that once supported the Second Temple, destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. Though not part of the Temple itself, it has become the holiest site of Jewish prayer precisely because it is the closest accessible point to where the Holy of Holies once stood. Visitors still slip handwritten notes into the ancient limestone cracks—notes that are later collected and buried—while the massive Herodian stones, some weighing more than 100 tons, continue to anchor one of the world’s most enduring places of longing and continuity.