Donation of Tefillin for Students

Criteria:

A student who took part in one of the seminars that the Western Wall Heritage Foundation holds, who does not have a pair of Tefillin and is also unable to buy one, may submit a request for a donation of Tefillin through the Western Wall Heritage Foundation on a designated request form, provided that he attaches:

1. A personal letter in which he gives details of the reason for the request and undertakes to use the Tefillin throughout the entire year.
2. A recommendation from the director of the Jewish Identity Center or the instructor through whom he reached the activity of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation.
3. A valid student card from a recognized educational institution.

For a request form, click here.

Procedure for Bringing Torah scrolls into the Western Wall Plaza

1. Background

• At the Western Wall, there are more than 100 Torah scrolls, Sephardi and Ashkenazi, for the use of worshippers. The cost of a Torah scroll ranges between $20,000 and $40,000. Because of the phenomenon of the theft of Torah scrolls in Israel, there is a concern regarding the theft of Torah scrolls from the Western Wall plaza.
• Recently, attempts that are familiar from the past have restarted, where people bring in Torah scrolls for the purpose of holding religious ceremonies that are not according to the custom of the site in the Western Wall plaza, contrary to the ruling of the court in the case of HCJFH 4128/00 Director-General of the Prime Minister’s Office v. Hoffman. Against the aforesaid background, this procedure has been prescribed.

2. Procedure

• A Torah scroll may not be brought into the plaza, including the upper plaza, unless approval has been given by the Rabbi of the Western Wall to do so. Such approval will be given if the Rabbi of the Western Wall sees that there are special circumstances that justify this, such as a need for new Torah scrolls, a large number of prayer groups that lead to the holding of prayer groups also in the upper plaza, etc. No such approval will be given if there is a reasonable concern that the requested activity will not be carried out according to the custom of the site.
• The security guards at the entrance to the Western Wall plaza may prevent the bringing in of a Torah scroll that was not approved by the Rabbi of the Western Wall. If it is discovered that a Torah scroll was brought into the Western Wall plaza, including the upper plaza, contrary to what is stated in section 1, the Police will act to remove it from the plaza.

Procedure for filming in the Western Wall plaza

We are happy for you to take films at the Western Wall and respect your desire to do so!

The Western Wall is precious and holy to all of us, and by contacting us, you emphasize and reinforce this.

Although the Western Wall plaza is a public place, for the tens of thousands of visitors and worshippers every day at the Western Wall, the stone plaza is an intimate place, where they come with their prayers and on joyous and sad occasions. Each man and woman who has made his or her way to the Western Wall, sometimes from the other side of the world, is entitled to utter their prayers at the Western Wall in a private and dignified manner, as if they were there on their own.

Out of respect and as a commitment to persons who come to the Western Wall, we are compelled to make clear rules for television filming at the Western Wall plaza. These rules will ensure both the protection of the privacy of visitors and their experience at the holy site. Approval for filming is conditional upon compliance with all the sections of these rules.

The rules are as follows:

1. Concepts:
2. ‘The Western Wall plaza’ is the whole of the area beyond the security check gates in the Western Wall plaza.
3. ‘The prayer plaza’ is the special plaza for prayer, which is adjacent to the Western Wall.
4. The filming of news is permitted in the Western Wall plaza only (not in the prayer plaza), upon production of an official certificate of the Government Press Office.
5. Films and documentaries will be allowed on the basis of presenting a declaration of intent and a synopsis of the full film, as well as a full screenplay of the filming at the Western Wall.

The approval is valid in the Western Wall plaza only (and not in the prayer plaza) and only with the approval of a representative of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation who is authorized for this purpose.

4. No entertainment programs of any kind at the Western Wall may be filmed.
5. No staging of any kind by actors will be allowed at the Western Wall plaza.
6. Filming at the Western Wall will be done only with a one shoulder camera.

Filming with a tripod or any other devices (such as lighting stands, microphones, etc.) will not be allowed in the plaza.

7. For reasons of privacy, worshippers may not be filmed without their consent.
8. Male crew members may not enter the women’s area and vice versa.
9. Only a limited filming crew will be allowed to enter the Western Wall plaza.
10. No production equipment will be set up in the Western Wall plaza.
11. Any filming in the prayer plaza will be done solely in the continuous presence of a representative of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation and in exceptional cases only, with prior approval and coordination.
12. The approval is for filming only.

Interviews with people in the Western Wall plaza will not take place without special approval and in the places designated for this by a representative of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation.