Chabad of the Western wall – the Kotel

There has been a Chabad presence at the Kotel – the Western Wall – since at least 1980, if not prior to then.  The original tefilin stand at the Kotel was established by R’ Moshe Weber (ztz’l), a Chasid of the Rebbe who lived in the Meah Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem but came frequently to the Kotel. 

R’ Moshe Weber was a very special Jew who spoke only Hebrew and Yiddish, but who managed to communicate his warmth and concern to every Jew who met him, despite a slight speech impediment.  His home in Mea Shearim was open to every Jew, and many was the time that groups of yeshiva guys spent a lovely Shabbat meal with R’ Moshe and were even invited to sleep over in his house. 

In Mea Shearim itself, R’ Moshe was known as the “go to” person if ever a secular Jew walked in the neighborhood looking for some traditional Shabbat hospitality.  The Rebbe was reputed to have said that R’ Moshe was a beinoni…after his passing in 1995(?), the tefilin stand was run by his student, R’ Ido Weber Ehrlich, until it was taken over by the current Chabad emissaries.

From more on Chabad of the Western Wall, got to http://www.chabad.org/centers/default_cdo/aid/119383/jewish/Chabad-of-the-Western-Wall-The-Kotel.htm