Jerusalem clears notes in Western Wall for Jewish new year

As the Jewish new year approaches, Jerusalem's Western Wall was cleared of notes sent to God, to make room for new ones that will be placed into the cracks of the ancient stones.

Every year millions of people visit the Western Wall. They write prayers on pieces of paper and wedge them into the cracks of the wall. The tradition has been adopted by many faiths around the world.

Chief Rabbi of the Western Wall, Shmuel Rabinowitz, says it is important to make sure there's always room for future notes. The contents of the letter are never read or fully counted by those who collect them. The notes are later buried in Jerusalem's Mount of Olives.

It's estimated that in each collection there are enough to fill about 100 shopping bags, each with thousands of notes.