40 days at the Wall – Chicago Jewish Star

By GIL ZOHARISRAEL CORRESPONDENT

According to a kabbalistic tradition, God answers the prayers of those who visit the Western Wall for 40 consecutive days.

But not everyone lives in Jerusalem, and even denizens of the Holy City find it a challenge to visit the Old City shrine daily for nearly six weeks to avail themselves of divine intervention. Recognizing this need, in 2004 Jewish Quarter resident Batya Burd, 33, established Western Wall Prayers to say proxy prayers at the Kotel for those unable to be there personally.

The requested donation? $2 per day, or $80 for heavenly help, smiles the petite brunette, who was a corporate lawyer in Toronto before getting into the God game. “Once I was told I was selling snake oil. But that’s okay,” she demurs. “I’m not doing this for public approval. You have to believe in God to actually believe this works. Otherwise it’s just superstition.”

Burd herself, and her Chicago-born husband Gershon, are proof of the efficacy of the 40-day ritual, she continues, even as she emphasizes there is no guarantee.

The two met in December 2002 a week-and-a-half after Gershon had completed his own 40-day stint at the Kotel — where his prayers had focused on finding his besherte (God designated match).

After five dates in a whirlwind 15 days, the couple became engaged and were married two months later, she smiles.

A son and daughter quickly followed. While Gershon works as the executive director of the Yeshivas Bircas ha-Torah seminary, money is tight, Burd acknowledges.

“In our first year of marriage before this service was started, we had to rely on miracles almost weekly just to survive. I remember once we owed 200 shekels and had to pay it that day. We didn’t have it, and just turned to God.

“A couple of hours later a friend came to the door with exactly 200 shekels. She put it in my hand and asked if I could buy a book for her on my credit card because hers wasn’t working. She gave me the cash instead. That gave us 30 days to pay.

“And it seemed as if the whole year was like that. But we always made it, and learned that HaShem [God] always provides.”

Indeed Burd’s biography reads as an extended miracle of Jewish survival.

Her parents, Efim and Anna Fefer, are Russian scientists who in 1973 were able to escape Ukraine, then part of the U.S.S.R., on exit permits for Israel.

Like tens of thousands of Soviet émigrés, the Fefers were disappointed with the reality of life in the Jewish state. Indeed their arrival coincided with the disastrous 1973 Yom Kippur War.

In 1976, with their newborn daughter in tow, the Fefers decamped to Ostia Lido, Italy, outside Rome, where they waited three difficult years for a visa to Canada.

Raised in the Toronto suburb of Thornhill, and trained at the prestigious Osgoode Hall Law School, Batya — then called Lisa Fefer — came to Israel on a lifechanging 10-day Birthright trip in January 2001.

The rest, she observes, is history.

The prayer business

Apart from Burd’s legal background specializing in entertainment contracts, she is also a certified therapist trained at the Jerusalem Therapy Psycho Spiritual Institute.

Besides composing the prayers to be said verbally at the Western Wall, the former lawyer does a lot of counseling.

“It’s easier for a third party to see straight. Often people can’t see beyond their suffering,” she explains. “I use a lot of lawyerly skills.”

And why does God give people issues? “To help them improve,” she responds.

In May 2004 Burd decided to set up her personal prayer business. Two years later she obtained not-for-profit amuta status. Today the charity employs herself and another half-time worker, and pays 35 prayer agents, “99 per cent of whom are either teaching or learning Torah.”

Each surrogate worshipper spends a minimum of 10 minutes of prayer per party.

Some remain for hours at the Kotel — which formed the western retaining wall of King Herod’s massive enlargement of the Temple complex on Mount Moriah, and from which (according to Jewish tradition) God’s presence is said to permanently dwell.

Burd declines to reveal payment. “It’s a sensitive subject,” she notes, adding the largesse is well-appreciated and well-spent by her Torah team, all of whom are spirituality-rich but cash-poor.

Bottom line: since 2004, Western Wall Prayers has served more than 700 people seeking divine intervention on matters such as fertility, health or marriage. Burd points to a raft of success stories of prayers answered, the most moving of which are posted at westernwallprayers.org.

Unusual requests have included divine help in being released from prison, losing weight, and obtaining American citizenship.

One Christian donor, who sought prayers for Jesus’s resurrection, was politely declined, she says.

Though the majority of donors live in New York and Toronto, others are from the Philippines, South Africa, Australia and Britain. Three-quarters are Jewish.

Promoted by word of mouth and advertisements on Google and the haredi newspaper Hamodia, numbers are increasing, Burd adds. “We pray for you out of gratitude for your donation,” she notes.

Burd claims donors feel very satisfied with her service, and have reported “nearly 140” stories of prayers answered, ranging from love discovered to health re gained. Many donors are repeats.

“Even people who didn’t see open miracles feel very grateful for how connected they feel during the process,” she concludes. “It’s not magic, but it is a Torah recipe for success.”

“There’s scientific evidence that prayer works,” she says.

According to a kabbalist tradition, God answers the prayers of those who visit the Western Wall for 40 consecutive days. But not everyone lives in Jerusalem, and even denizens of the Holy City find it a challenge to visit the Old City shrine daily for nearly six weeks to avail themselves of divine intervention.

In 2004, Jewish Quarter resident Batya Burd, 33, recognized this need and established Western Wall Prayers to say proxy prayers at the Kotel for those unable to be there personally.

The requested donation is $2 per day, or $80 for heavenly help, the petite brunette smilingly relates. She was a corporate lawyer in Toronto, Canada before getting into the God business.

“I was once told that I was selling snake oil. But that’s okay,” she demurs. “I’m not doing this for public approval. You have to believe in God to actually believe this works. Otherwise it’s just superstition.”

Burd and her Chicago-born husband Gershon are proof of the efficacy of prayer, but stress that there are no guarantees. The two met in December 2002, a week and a half after Gershon had completed his own 40-day stint at the Kotel – where his prayers had focused on finding his bashert (God-given match). After five dates in a whirlwind 15 days, she happily says, the couple became engaged and married two months later.

A son and daughter quickly followed. While Gershon works as the executive director of the Yeshivas Bircha-Torah seminary, money is tight, Burd acknowledges.

“In our first year of marriage, before this service was started, we had to rely on miracles almost weekly just to survive. I remember once we owed 200 shekels and had to pay it that day. We didn’t have it, and just turned to God. A couple of hours later a friend came to the door with exactly 200 shekels. She put it in my hand and asked if I could buy a book for her on my credit card because hers wasn’t working. She gave me the cash instead. That gave us 30 days to pay. And it seemed as if the whole year was like that. But we always made it, and learned that Hashem always provides.”

Indeed Burd’s biography reads as an extended miracle of Jewish survival. Her parents, Efim and Anna Fefer, are Russian scientists who in 1973 were able to escape Ukraine (then part of the Soviet Union) on exit permits for Israel. Like tens of thousands of Soviet émigrés, the Fefers were disappointed with the reality of life in the Jewish state. No wonder, as their arrival coincided with the disastrous 1973 Yom Kippur War.

In 1976, with their newborn daughter in tow, the Fefers decamped to Ostia Lido, Italy outside Rome where they waited three difficult years for a visa to Canada. Raised in the Toronto suburb of Thornhill and educated at the prestigious Osgoode Hall Law School, Batya – then called Lisa Fefer – came to Israel on a life-changing 10-day Birthright trip in January 2001. The rest, she observes, is history.

Apart from Burd’s legal background specializing in entertainment contracts, she is also a certified therapist trained at the Jerusalem Therapy Psycho-Spiritual Institute. Besides composing the prayers to be said verbally at the Western Wall, the former lawyer does a lot of counseling. “It’s easier for a third party to see straight. Often people can’t see beyond their suffering,” she explains. “I use a lot of lawyerly skills.”

And why does God give people issues? “To help them improve,” she responds.

In May 2004, Burd decided to set up her personal prayer business. Two years later, she obtained not-for-profit amuta status. Today the charity employs her and another part-time worker, and pays 35 prayer agents – “99 per cent of whom are either teaching or learning Torah.”

Each surrogate worshipper spends a minimum of 10 minutes of prayer per party. Some remain for hours at the Kotel – which formed the western, retaining wall of King Herod’s massive enlargement of the Temple complex on Mount Moriah, and from which according to Jewish tradition God’s presence is said to permanently dwell.

Burd declines to reveal payment. “It’s a sensitive subject,” she notes, adding the largesse is well appreciated and well spent by her Torah team, all of whom are spirituality-rich but cash-poor.

Here’s the bottom line: Since 2004, Western Wall Prayers has served more than 700 people seeking divine intervention on matters such as fertility, health or marriage. Burd points to many success stories of prayers answered, the most moving of which are posted online at www.westernwallprayers.org.

Unusual requests have included divine help in being released from prison, losing weight and obtaining American citizenship. One Christian donor, who sought prayers for Jesus’s resurrection, was politely declined, she says.

Though the majority of donors live in New York and Toronto, others are from the Philippines, South Africa, Australia and Britain. Three quarters are Jewish. Promoted by word of mouth and advertising, numbers are increasing, Burd adds.

“We pray for you out of gratitude for your donation,” she notes.

Burd claims donors feel very satisfied with her service, and have reported “nearly 140” stories of prayers answered – ranging from love discovered to health regained. Many donors are repeats. “Even people who didn’t see open miracles feel very grateful for how connected they feel during the process,” she concludes. “It’s not magic, but it is a Torah recipe for success.”

“There’s scientific evidence that prayer works.”

For more information, contact Batya Burd at 011-972-2-627-7068 or bburd@westernwallprayers.org.

JERUSALEM — Some want a wife. Others long for children, a miracle cure for illness or a quick fix for their finances.

Believers are seeking divine intervention for as little as $80 at WesternWallPrayers.org, a Jerusalem-based website that dispatches a squad of “agents” to pray at one of Judaism’s holiest sites on behalf of those who can’t get there themselves.

Batya Burd, a devout Jew who lives in Jerusalem’s Old City, set up her proxy prayer business to provide spiritual succour and, she says, religious miracles for the faithful while raising funds for those who devote their lives to biblical study.

The 33-year-old mother of two, who gave up a career as a corporate lawyer in Canada to come to Israel, collects e-mailed requests from around the world, then composes personal prayers for each client and assigns them an agent.

he emissary recites the prayer at Jerusalem’s Western Wall – a remnant of the ancient Jewish temple compound – every day for 40 days. Many visitors to the holy site write their prayers on slips of paper, which they press into the wall’s crevices.

Ms. Burd has composed prayers for as many as 800 people and says she has several “miracles” under her belt, including a man who met his soulmate, a woman who won the lottery and two people who say their cancer disappeared after they signed up for prayer.

Skeptics will argue that believers looking for results will always find them, and that many so-called answers to prayers are simply coincidences. Some might say it’s a scam.

The minimum donation is $2 a day, which will pay a member of Ms. Burd’s 35-strong squad of observant Jews to pray at the Western Wall for 40 days. A total of $720 (all funds U.S.) will get you exclusive prayer at the wall and at an Old City synagogue.

A special request and at least $1,800 will pay for 10 observant men to pray together for 40 days deep in the tunnels under the Western Wall that are off-limits to public worship.

Ms. Burd splits the money between the members of the prayer squad, who live in Jerusalem and don’t earn big salaries because they devote most of their time to biblical study rather than secular work.

She believes she herself was an answer to her husband’s prayers, after he completed the 40-day prayer marathon to ask for a wife after a string of failed dating forays.

About the same time as her future husband was asking for a wife, Ms. Burd says, she decided it was time to settle down. Days later a friend announced she knew just the man, and five dates later the two were married.

Was it a miracle?

“It was certainly out of the ordinary for it to be so clear and to get married so fast,” said Ms. Burd. “I guess I’ll only really know when I die.”

Rebecca Harrison, ReutersPublished: Tuesday, February 19, 2008

JERUSALEM – Some want a wife. Others long for children, a miracle cure for illness or a quick fix for their finances.

Believers are seeking divine intervention for as little as $80 at www.westernwallprayers.org, a Jerusalem-based website that dispatches a squad of “agents” to pray at one of Judaism’s holiest sites on behalf of those who can’t get there themselves.

The emissary recites the prayer at Jerusalem’s Western Wall — a remnant of the ancient Jewish temple compound — every day for 40 days. Many visitors to the holy site write their prayers on slips of paper, which they press into the wall’s crevices.

“When I looked at the needs around me here in Jerusalem they were mostly financial, whereas the needs of people where I come from were mostly spiritual,” said Burd in a cafe overlooking the Western Wall. “This was a way of merging both.”

Burd has composed prayers for 700-800 people and says she has several “miracles” under her belt, including a man who met his soul mate, a woman who won the lottery and two people who say their cancer disappeared after they signed up for prayer.

Sceptics will argue that believers looking for results will always find them, and that many so-called answers to prayers are simply canny coincidences.

Some might say it’s a scam.

But Burd believes fervently in the power of prayer and challenges sceptics to try it themselves.

“There are always sceptics, but without experiencing it you’re just ignorant,” she said. “The more sincerely you believe in something, the more God allows it to happen.”

The minimum donation is $2 a day, which will pay a member of Burd’s 35-strong squad of observant Jews to pray at the Western Wall for 40 days.

A total of $720 will get you exclusive prayer at the wall and at an Old City synagogue.

A special request and at least $1,800 will pay for 10 observant men to pray together for 40 days deep in the tunnels under the Western Wall that are off-limits to public worship.

Burd splits the money between the members of the prayer squad, who live in Jerusalem and devote most of their time to biblical study rather than secular work, so do not earn big salaries.

Although 70 per cent of her clients are Jewish, Burd also gets requests from people of other religions, or of none at all.

Most come from the United States and Canada, but some hail from as far afield as India, South Africa or Mexico.

Burd denies it’s a quick fix for cash-rich but spiritually poor Westerners, arguing clients are also asked to pray themselves every day during the 40-day period and to take on good deeds — a process she says brings them closer to God. “We hope they will become more connected to God, more connected to themselves and better human beings,” said Burd.

By Rebecca Harrison

JERUSALEM (Reuters Life!) – Some want a wife. Others long for children, a miracle cure for illness or a quick fix for their finances.

Believers are seeking divine intervention for as little as $90 at www.westernwallprayers.org, a Jerusalem-based Web site that dispatches a squad of “agents” to pray at one of Judaism’s holiest sites on behalf of those who can’t get there themselves.

Batya Burd, a devout Jew who lives in Jerusalem’s Old City, set up her proxy prayer [organization] to provide spiritual succor and, she says, religious miracles for the faithful while raising funds for those who devote their lives to biblical study. [The organization is recognized as a non-profit in Israel with a non-profit counterpart in America].

The 33-year-old mother of two, who gave up a career as a corporate lawyer in Canada to come to Israel, collects emailed requests from around the world, then composes personal prayers for each [donor] and assigns them an agent.

Skeptics will argue that believers looking for results will always find them, and that many so-called answers to prayers are simply canny coincidences. Some might say it’s a scam.

But Burd believes fervently in the power of prayer and challenges Skeptics to try it themselves.

“There are always Skeptics, but without experiencing it you’re just ignorant,” she said. “The more sincerely you believe in something, the more God allows it to happen.”

“A LITTLE HELP FROM ABOVE”

The minimum donation is $2 a day, which will pay a member of Burd’s 35-strong squad of observant Jews to pray at the Western Wall for 40 days. A total of $720 will get you exclusive prayer at the wall and at an Old City synagogue.

A special request and at least $1,800 will pay for 10 observant men to pray together for 40 days deep in the tunnels under the Western Wall that are off-limits to public worship.

Burd splits the money between the members of the prayer squad, who live in Jerusalem and devote most of their time to biblical study rather than secular work, so do not earn big salaries.

Although 70 percent of her [donors] are Jewish, Burd also gets requests from people of other religions, or of none at all. Most come from the United States and Canada, but some hail from as far afield as India, South Africa or Mexico.

Burd denies it’s a quick fix for cash-rich but spiritually poor Westerners, arguing [donors] are also asked to pray themselves every day during the 40-day period and to take on good deeds — a process she says brings them closer to God.

“We hope they will become more connected to God, more connected to themselves and better human beings,” said Burd.

She believes she herself was an answer to her husband’s prayers, after he completed the 40-day prayer marathon to ask for a wife after a string of failed dating forays.

“He was set up with all the right girls but could just never find the right person,” Burd said. “People were ready to give up on him so he decided to get a little help from above.”

About the same time as her future husband was asking for a wife, Burd says she decided it was time to settle down. Days later a friend announced she knew just the man, and five dates later, the two were married.

Was it a miracle?

“It was certainly out of the ordinary for it to be so clear and to get married so fast,” said Burd. “I guess I’ll only really know when I die.”

(Editing by Sara Ledwith and Paul Casciato)

By Rebecca Harrison

JERUSALEM (Reuters Life!) – Some want a wife. Others long for children, a miracle cure for illness or a quick fix for their finances.

Believers are seeking divine intervention. at www.westernwallprayers.org, a Jerusalem-based Web site that dispatches a squad of “agents” to pray at one of Judaism’s holiest sites on behalf of those who can’t get there themselves.

Batya Burd, a devout Jew who lives in Jerusalem’s Old City, set up her proxy prayer [non-profit] to provide spiritual succor and, she says, religious miracles for the faithful while raising funds for those who devote their lives to biblical study.

Skeptics will argue that believers looking for results will always find them, and that many so-called answers to prayers are simply canny coincidences. Some might say it’s a scam.

But Burd believes fervently in the power of prayer and challenges skeptics to try it themselves.

“There are always skeptics, but without experiencing it you’re just ignorant,” she said. “The more sincerely you believe in something, the more God allows it to happen.”

“A LITTLE HELP FROM ABOVE”

The minimum donation is $2 a day, [and] a member of Burd’s 35-strong squad of observant Jews [will be sent] to pray at the Western Wall for 40 days. A total of $720 will get you exclusive prayer at the wall and at an Old City synagogue.

A special request and at least $1,800 will pay for 10 observant men to pray together for 40 days deep in the tunnels under the Western Wall that are off-limits to public worship.

Burd splits the money between the members of the prayer squad, who live in Jerusalem and devote most of their time to biblical study rather than secular work, so do not earn big salaries.

Although 70 percent of her clients are Jewish, Burd also gets requests from people of other religions, or of none at all. Most come from the United States and Canada, but some hail from as far afield as India, South Africa or Mexico.

“We hope they will become more connected to God, more connected to themselves and better human beings,” said Burd.

She believes she herself was an answer to her husband’s prayers, after he completed the 40-day prayer marathon to ask for a wife after a string of failed dating forays.

“He was set up with all the right girls but could just never find the right person,” Burd said. “People were ready to give up on him so he decided to get a little help from above.”

Was it a miracle?

“It was certainly out of the ordinary for it to be so clear and to get married so fast,” said Burd. “I guess I’ll only really know when I die.”

[WesternWallPrayers.org is recognized as a non-profit organization both in Israel and in the United States.]

(Editing by Sara Ledwith and Paul Casciato)

According to a kabbalist tradition, God answers the prayers of those who visit the Western Wall for 40 consecutive days. But not everyone lives in Jerusalem, and even residents of the holy city find it a challenge to visit the Wall daily for nearly six weeks to avail themselves of divine intervention.

Recognizing this need, in 2004 Jewish Quarter resident Batya Burd, 33, established Western Wall Prayers to say proxy prayers at the Wall for those unable to do so themselves.

The requested donation? Two dollars per day, or $90, for heavenly help, smiles the petite brunette.

“Once I was told I was selling snake oil. But.,” she says. “I’m not doing this for public approval. You have to believe in God to actually believe this works. Otherwise it’s just superstition.”

Burd herself and her Chicago-born husband Gershon are proof of the efficacy of the 40-day ritual, she continues, even as she emphasizes there is no guarantee. The two met in December 2002, a week and a half after Gershon had completed his own 40-day stint at the Wall – where his prayers had focused on finding his beshert (God-given match).

After five dates in a whirlwind 15 days, the couple became engaged, and were married two months later, she smiles.

A son and daughter quickly followed. While Gershon works as the executive director of the Yeshivas Bircas Hatorah seminary, money is tight, Burd acknowledges.

“In our first year of marriage before this service was started, we had to rely on miracles almost weekly just to survive,” she recalls.

Indeed Burd’s biography reads as an extended miracle of Jewish survival. In 1973, her parents Efim and Anna Fefer escaped Ukraine, then part of the USSR, on exit permits for Israel. Like tens of thousands of Soviet emigres, the Fefers were disappointed with the reality of life in the Jewish state. Indeed, their arrival coincided with the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

In 1976, with their new-born daughter in tow, the Fefers decamped to Ostia Lido, Italy, outside Rome where they waited three difficult years for a visa to Canada. Raised in the Toronto suburb of Thornhill, . Batya – then called Lisa Fefer – came to Israel on a life-changing birthright israel trip in January 2001. The rest, she says, is history.

[Burd] is also a certified therapist trained at the Jerusalem Therapy Psycho-Spiritual Institute. Besides composing the prayers to be said verbally at the Western Wall, [she] does a lot of counseling.

“It’s easier for a third party to see straight. Often people can’t see beyond their suffering,” she explains. “I use a lot of [therapist] skills.”

In May [2006] Burd . set up her personal prayer [organization’s] not-for-profit status. Today the charity employs herself and another half-time worker, and pays 35 prayer agents “99 percent of whom are either teaching or learning Torah.”

Each surrogate worshiper spends a minimum of 10 minutes of prayer per party, while some remain for hours at the Wall.

Burd declines to reveal her income. “It’s a sensitive subject,” she says, adding that the largesse is well-appreciated and well-spent by her Torah team, all of whom are spirituality rich but cash-poor.

Bottom line . Western Wall Prayers has served more than 700 people seeking divine intervention on matters such as fertility, health or marriage. Burd points to a raft of success stories of prayers answered, the most moving of which are posted online at www.westernwallprayers.org.

Unusual requests have included divine help in being released from prison, losing weight and obtaining American citizenship…

Though the majority of donors live in New York and Toronto, others are from the Philippines, South Africa, Australia and Britain. Three-quarters are Jewish. Promoted by word of mouth and advertisements on Google and the haredi newspaper Hamodia, numbers are increasing, Burd adds.

“We pray for you out of gratitude for your donation,” she says. Burd says donors feel very satisfied with her service, and have reported “nearly 140” stories of prayers answered, ranging from love discovered to health regained. Many donors are repeats.

“Even people who didn’t see open miracles feel very grateful for how connected they feel during the process,” she explains. “It’s not magic, but it is a Torah recipe for success.”

JERUSALEM – According to a kabbalist tradition, God answers the prayers of those who visit the Western Wall for 40 consecutive days. However, not everyone lives in Jerusalem and even denizens of the Holy City find it a challenge to visit the Old City shrine daily for nearly six weeks to avail themselves of divine intervention.

Recognizing this need, Jewish Quarter resident Batya Burd, 33, established Western Wall Prayers in 2004 to say proxy prayers at the Kotel for those unable to be there personally.

The requested donation? Two dollars per day for 40 days, for heavenly help, smiles the petite brunette – who was a corporate lawyer in Toronto before getting into the God game.

“Once I was told I was selling snake oil. But that’s okay,” she demurs. “I’m not doing this for public approval. You have to believe in God to actually believe this works. Otherwise it’s just superstition.”

Burd and her Chicago-born husband Gershon are proof of the efficacy of prayer but stress there are no guarantees. The two met in December 2002, a week and a half after Gershon had completed his own 40-day stint at the Kotel – where his prayers had focused on finding his beshert (God-given match). After five dates in a whirlwind 15 days, the couple became engaged and were married two months later, she said.

A son and daughter quickly followed. While Gershon works as the executive director of the Yeshivas Bircas ha-Torah seminary, money is tight, Burd acknowledges.

Indeed Burd’s biography reads as an extended miracle of Jewish survival. Her parents Efim and Anna Fefer are Russian scientists who in 1973 were able to escape Ukraine, then part of the USSR, on exit permits for Israel. Like tens of thousands of Soviet emigres, the Fefers were disappointed with the reality of life in the Jewish state. Indeed their arrival coincided with the disastrous 1973 Yom Kippur War.

In 1976, with their new-born daughter in tow, the Fefers decamped to Ostia Lido, Italy, outside Rome where they waited three difficult years for a visa to Canada. Raised in the Toronto suburb of Thornhill, and educated at the prestigious Osgoode Hall Law School, Batya – then called Lisa Fefer – came to Israel on a life-changing 10-day Birthright trip in January 2001. The rest, she observes, is history.

“It’s easier for a third party to see straight. Often people can’t see beyond their suffering,” she explains. “I use a lot of lawyerly skills.”

And why does God give people issues? “To help them improve,” she responds.

In May 2004 Burd decided to set up her personal prayer business. Two years later she obtained not-for-profit amuta status. Today the charity employs herself and another half-time worker, and pays 35 prayer agents “99 per cent of whom are either teaching or learning Torah.”

Each surrogate worshipper spends a minimum of 10 minutes of prayer per party. Some remain for hours at the Kotel, which formed the western retaining wall of King Herod’s massive enlargement of the Temple complex on Mount Moriah, and from which according to Jewish tradition God’s presence is said to permanently dwell.

Burd declines to reveal payment to her surrogates. “It’s a sensitive subject,” she notes, adding the largesse is well-appreciated and well-spent by her Torah team, all of whom are spirituality rich but cash poor.

Bottom line, since 2004 Western Wall Prayers has served more than 700 people seeking divine intervention on matters such as fertility, health or marriage. Burd points to a raft of success stories of prayers answered, the most moving of which are posted online at www.westernwallprayers.org.

Unusual requests have included divine help in being released from prison, losing weight and obtaining American citizenship.

One Christian donor, who sought prayers for Jesus’s resurrection, was politely declined, she says.

“We pray for you out of gratitude for your donation,” she notes.

Burd claims donors feel very satisfied with her service, and have reported “nearly 140” stories of prayers answered, ranging from love discovered to health regained. Many donors are repeats.

“Even people who didn’t see open miracles feel very grateful for how connected they feel during the process,” she concludes. “It’s not magic, but it is a Torah recipe for success.”

“There’s scientific evidence that prayer works.”

For more information, contact Batya Burd at 011.972.2.627.7068 or bburd@westernwallprayers.org.

We all know someone who wishes to get married, or have a baby, or recover from health problems, or overcome financial setbacks, or… Perhaps that person is you.

When all our efforts and prayers seem to be going unanswered, the great rabbis of Jerusalem have long recommended a more powerful track—40 days of prayer at the Western Wall. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Jerusalemites will testify that their heart’s desires were fulfilled after 40 consecutive days at the Kotel.

In early 2003, Gershon Burd experienced this for himself: At the time, he was learning in a yeshiva in Jerusalem. After five years of searching for his soul mate, he tried 40 days at the Kotel. During that period, across the city, a young woman named Batya, who had not even been dating, suddenly felt that she was ready for marriage.

An acquaintance introduced them and they were engaged two weeks later.

In order to bring the power of the 40-day prayer to the world while raising money for needy Jerusalem families, Gershon and Batya Burd started Western Wall Prayers ( www.westernwallprayers.org ) in 2004. Users sign up online and are invited to request their prayer. They are then matched with a kollel man or wife who goes to the Kotel for 40 consecutive days, giving charity for them each time, and speaks the prayer, word-for-word, asking for Divine Mercy on their behalf.

Meanwhile, the donor prays the same prayer every day along with their agent, creating a potent partnership and growth experience. In return for spiritual services rendered, the donor gives a minimum $90 donation to support needy kollel families in Jerusalem.

“Under Jewish law, if you appoint an agent to do something for you, it is exactly as if you are doing it yourself,” says Batya Burd. “The donation is a material blessing that we connect to the spiritual blessing of praying at the Kotel. It’s prayer and charity in one—a blessing for all involved.”

Obviously, Western Wall Prayers is not guaranteeing answers to every person’s prayers, as all is ultimately in G-d’s hands. But the Western Wall Prayers website lists 110 “success stories,” from the cute to the downright miraculous.

Brooklyn’s Ella Sanders had been on the shidduch scene for five years when she heard about Western Wall Prayers. When she asked that her agent pray that she marry the man that she was then dating seriously, she was advised to make her prayer more general. “Well, that shidduch didn’t work out,” says Sanders. “Instead, I met another man, with incredible midos, and we got married a few months later! It was amazing. We now have a baby boy.”

After Eli P., of Chicago, was diagnosed with colon cancer, his son contacted Western Wall Prayers and asked them to pray 40 days for a complete recovery. “On the 36th day, the doctors operated and were astounded to find nothing but a small wound,” says Eli. “I was also surprised until I found out that my son had sponsored a prayer agent for me.”

Other notable stories include Paulina Aguilar, of Chile, who says that she gave birth to her daughter exactly one year after her agent began praying that she become a mother and Lisa M. who says that her mother’s wondrous recovery from cancer has her doctor “looking to the Heavens for an explanation.”

To sign up for prayers for yourself or a loved one, fill out a form online at www.westernwallprayers.org.

By Naomi Elbinger

We all know someone we desperately wish would get married, or have a baby, or recover from a health condition, or overcome a financial setback. Perhaps that person is you.

When all our efforts fail and seem to be going nowhere, we have an option that has long been recommended by the Gedolim of Yerushalayim — 40 days of prayer at the Western Wall. Hundreds of Yerushalmim will testify that their heart’s desires were fulfilled after 40 consecutive days at the Kosel.

In early 2003, Gershon Burd was learning in a yeshivah in Yerushalayim. After five years of searching for his zivug, he tried 40 days at the Kosel. During that period, across the city, a young woman named Batya, who hadn’t even begun looking into shidduchim, suddenly felt that she was ready for marriage. An acquaintance introduced them, and they became engaged two weeks later.

In order to bring the power of the 40-days-of-prayer segulah to the world while raising money for Yerushalmi families, Gershon and Batya Burd started Western Wall Prayers in 2004. The service enables anyone anywhere in the world to request a prayer for a minimum donation of $90. The donor is matched with a ben Torah or the wife of a ben Torah who goes to the Kosel for 40 consecutive days, giving tzedakah for them each time.

Meanwhile, the donor offers the same prayer every day along with his or her shaliach, creating a potent partnership. The donation is used to support kollel families in Yerushalayim. Rabbi Berel Wein acts as a reference for the program, and Rabbi Avigdor Nebensahl, Chief Rabbi of the Old City, recites a Mi Sheberach for those who donate $360.

“Under Jewish law, if you appoint an agent to do something for you, it is exactly as if you are doing it yourself,” says Batya Burd. “The donation is a gashmi blessing that we connect to the ruchni blessing of praying at the Kosel. It’s tefillah and tzedakah in one — a blessing for all involved.”

Obviously, Western Wall Prayers does not guarantee answers to every person’s tefillos; everything is ultimately in Hashem’s hands. But the couple has published some 110 success stories, including that of Brooklyn’s Ella Sanders, who had been searching for her zivug for five years when she heard about Western Wall Prayers. When she asked that her agent pray that she marry the man she was then seeing seriously, she was advised to make her prayer more general.

“Well, that shidduch didn’t work out,” says Sanders. “Instead I met another man with incredible middos, and we got married a few months later… We now have a baby boy.”

After Eli P. of Chicago was diagnosed with colon cancer, his son contacted Western Wall Prayers and asked them to pray for 40 days for a complete recovery. “On the 36th day, the doctors operated and were astounded to find nothing but a small infection,” says Eli. “I was also surprised until I found out that my son had sponsored a prayer agent for me.”

Other notable participants include Paulina Aguilar of Chile, who gave birth to her daughter exactly one year after her agent began praying that she would become a mother, and Lisa M., who says that her mother’s wondrous recovery from cancer has her doctor “looking to the heavens for an explanation.”

To sign up for prayers for yourself or a loved one, call 1-866-343-4173.