Editing Western Wall (section)

====Contact with the Wall====
Some Orthodox Jewish codifiers warn against inserting fingers into the cracks of the Wall as they believe that the breadth of the Wall constitutes part of the Temple Mount itself and retains holiness, while others who permit doing so claim that the Wall is located outside the Temple area.<ref>See ''[[Avrohom Bornsztain|Avnei Nezer]]'' [[Yoreh Deah]] 450</ref>{{primary source inline|date=February 2016}}

In the past, some visitors would write their names on the Wall, or based upon various scriptural verses, would drive nails into the crevices. These practices stopped after rabbis determined that such actions compromised the sanctity of the Wall.<ref name= SLC/> Another practice also existed whereby pilgrims or those intending to travel abroad would hack off a chip from the Wall or take some of the sand from between its cracks as a good luck charm or memento. In the late 19th century the question was raised as to whether this was permitted and a long [[responsa]] appeared in the Jerusalem newspaper ''[[Israel Dov Frumkin#Havatzelet|Havatzelet]]'' in 1898. It concluded that even if according to Jewish Law it was permitted, the practices should be stopped as it constituted a desecration.<ref name= SLC/> More recently the ''[[Yalkut Yosef]]'' rules that it is forbidden to remove small chips of stone or dust from the Wall, although it is permissible to take twigs from the vegetation which grows in the Wall for an amulet, as they contain no holiness.<ref name= YY>{{cite book |last= Yosef |first= Ovadia |author-link= Ovadia Yosef |title= ''[[Yalkut Yosef]]'' |year= 1990 |location=[[Jerusalem]] |volume= 2, Laws of Kotel HaMa'aravi |pages= 278–282 |no-pp= true}}</ref> Cleaning the stones is also problematic from a [[halachic]] point of view. Blasphemous graffiti once sprayed by a tourist was left visible for months until it began to peel away.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/770030.html
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071228021554/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/770030.html
| url-status=dead
| archive-date=December 28, 2007
| title=Western Wall rabbi forbids proposed burning of prayer notes
| last=Shragai
| first=Nadav
| access-date=December 16, 2007
| date=October 5, 2006
| newspaper=[[Haaretz]]
}}</ref>