Table of Contents Table of Contents .............................................................................7 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................15 PREFACE .......................................................................................17 What is Our Story? ...................................................................................17 Note to Reader - Humanized Stone ................................................19 CHAPTER I ....................................................................................21 The Wall and I! ...................................................................... 21 We, Stones of the Kotel, Celebrate Life. .................................................22 CHAPTER II ..................................................................................26 Building and Destruction ........................................................................29 Romans, Christians, and Muslims ..........................................................30 CHAPTER III ................................................................................32 Jerusalem and The Wall ............................................................................32 Place of Jewish Worship ...........................................................................32 The Wall is like a Magnet! .......................................................................34 Stones with Feelings .................................................................................36 CHAPTER IV ..................................................................................40 The Noise that Time Makes .....................................................................40 CHAPTER V ...................................................................................43 Bad News / Good News ...........................................................................43 A Bit of History ........................................................................................45 Early Period: Prior to 1025 BCE ..............................................................45 1150–1025 BCE .........................................................................................45 1025 BCE ..................................................................................................45 1010–970 BCE ...........................................................................................46 970–931 BCE ............................................................................................46 950 BCE ....................................................................................................46 930 BCE ....................................................................................................46 929–721 BCE ............................................................................................47 721–715 BCE ...........................................................................................47 715 BCE ....................................................................................................47 701 BCE ....................................................................................................48 598–587 BCE ............................................................................................48 TabLE OF CONTENTS 7 586 BCE .....................................................................................................49 562 BCE ....................................................................................................49 539 BCE ....................................................................................................50 538-516 BCE ............................................................................................50 Jerusalem Was In Ruins ............................................................................51 Ezra: A Priest and A Scribe .......................................................................52 Nehemiah Arrives .....................................................................................53 Kol HaKavod (Bravo)! ................................................................................53 521–520 BCE ...........................................................................................54 515 BCE ....................................................................................................55 397 BCE ....................................................................................................56 332–63 BCE .............................................................................................56 323 BCE ....................................................................................................57 320–198 BCE ...........................................................................................58 198–167 BCE .............................................................................................58 190 BCE .....................................................................................................59 169–167 BCE .............................................................................................59 167-63 BCE ................................................................................................60 63 BCE ......................................................................................................60 37 BCE ......................................................................................................61 19 BCE — The Year I was Born .................................................................62 CHAPTER VI .................................................................................63 How I Came to be a Part of The Western Wall ........................................63 “Ouch! That hurt!” ...................................................................................64 Standing in Awe and Respect ..................................................................65 Transporting the Stones ..........................................................................67 Rollers and Levers ....................................................................................67 Erecting the Wall ......................................................................................69 Statistics ...................................................................................................70 Mind-boggling, Isn’t It? Well, here’s More: ............................................71 CHAPTER VII .................................................................................73 4 BCE — King Herod Dies ........................................................................... 73 Savage Ferocity ..........................................................................................73 26–36 CE ...................................................................................................73 39 CE ..........................................................................................................74 41–44 CE — The Third Wall .....................................................................75 8 A STONE SPEAKS 66 CE — Revolt against the Romans .......................................................76 67 CE — The Siege of Yodfat ....................................................................78 67 CE — The Battle at Gamla ..................................................................78 70 CE — A Malicious Strategy .................................................................79 Smuggled Out of Jerusalem ....................................................................80 The Summer of 70 CE ...............................................................................81 72–74 CE — Masada .................................................................................83 100 CE — Trajan, a Friend of the Jews ...................................................84 115–116 CE — Forced Hellenization .......................................................84 118 CE ........................................................................................................85 130 CE ......................................................................................................85 132–135 CE — Bar Kochba Revolt ..........................................................86 135 CE — Hadrian’s Visit to Jerusalem ................................................86 212 CE .......................................................................................................87 312 CE — Progressive Deterioration of Jewish Rights ..........................87 361–363 CE — Julian’s Tolerance of Judaism .......................................88 Permission to Resettle Jerusalem ...........................................................90 425–438 CE .............................................................................................90 443 CE ........................................................................................................91 584 CE ......................................................................................................91 614 CE —The Final Collision ...................................................................91 Repressive Roman Rule Coming to an End .............................................92 Black Day in the History of Jerusalem ....................................................93 617 CE ......................................................................................................93 629 CE — Massacre and Forced Baptism ................................................94