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Touching the kotel



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amother
Silver


 

Post Thu, Oct 01 2015, 4:08 pm
teen ds just shared with us that he learned in camp one should not touch the kotel- of course the rebbi did not give a source or explanation. we are planning a trip to E"Y and have been to the kotel before and have seen plenty of people touching it- if this was the true halacha wouldn't it be cordoned off with a rope or something??? Plus it is not even part of the Beis"Hamikdash- its just an outside wall- anyone heard of this?
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amother
Coral


 

Post Thu, Oct 01 2015, 4:10 pm
It's a Brisker chumra.
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m in Israel




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 01 2015, 4:21 pm
The idea is based on the concept that beyond the wall is Har Habayis where many (most?) poskim today hold we are not allowed to go based on the fact that we are currently tamei. The question is where exactly the Har Habayis begins. People who don't touch the wall want to make sure 100% that they don't accidentally enter the actual space of Har Habayis. Some people will touch the front of the stones but be careful not to put their fingers in any cracks or on any top surfaces that are visible (if they are putting a note in the wall, for example, they will use a pen or other object to push it in rather than their finger), and some people are not careful with this idea at all.

It is certainly not a universally accepted "halacha".
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Iymnok




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 01 2015, 4:29 pm
Similar to above. The wall isn't perfectly straight, rather it tapers in. So some people won't go closer than about a foot so they won't be standing on Har Habayis b'tuma.
Talk to your Rav before your trip.
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DrMom




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 01 2015, 8:58 pm
Obviously, this prohibition has not been adopted by many, many frum Jews.
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