Kotel

Alternative Spellings

kosel

Definitions

• "The Western Wall"/wailing wall (Glinert)

Example Sentences

• "I'm going to pray at the Kotel tomorrow with Women of the Wall."

Languages of Origin

Textual Hebrew

Etymology

כותל 'lit. wall', short for הכותל 'the Wall' or הכותל המערבי 'the Western Wall'

Who Uses This

Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education
Israel: Diaspora Jews who feel connected to Israel and have spent time there

Regions

North America

Dictionaries

The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).