The addressee is God. Shortly before the High Holy Days, these letters are brought to this last remaining portion of the Holy Temple by the Israel Postal Service, but not before every single one has been opened. The letters must be checked to ensure they don’t contain curses against God. Then they are placed in the Western Wall, and later removed for burial, as are all other notes left in the crevices of Judaism’s holiest site.

The burial ceremony is jointly conducted by the rabbi of the Western Wall, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, and the director of the Israel Postal Service, Danny Goldstein. “People from all over the world send letters to God to the place where all prayers join up together, to the holy wall of the Jewish Temple,” Rabbi Rabinowitz said. One of those letters was from a woman who had failed to reconcile with her father before his passing: “My father is sitting beside You, God. Please, pass on my love, and ask him to forgive me. I didn’t...