The Jewish New Year is a time for purging and reflection, a sentiment exemplified by a tradition conducted at the Wailing Wall each Rosh Hashanah.

Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, known as the “Rabbi of the Wall,” oversaw this week the removal of thousands of prayers written on paper and placed in the cracks of the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.

The custom of sealing sacred prayers and personal pleas within the wall is centuries old. With millions visiting the Wall each year, the small paper prayers build up quickly.

As such, Rabbi Rabinovitch and his team carefully remove the articles ahead of each Passover and Rosh Hashanah. The recovered prayers are then buried, unread.

The ritual took place Monday in Israel, in expectation of an influx of Rosh Hashanah prayers.

Recently, Kotel administers opened a program allowing those outside the Jewish state to virtually create a message online. The notes are then printed out and placed in the cracks of the Wall by staff. Write your own prayer for the New Year by visiting this link.