A volunteer from The Western Wall Foundation Council removes the notes from crevices in the wall ahead of the Jewish New Year. Photo: Screenshot / Channel 2.

Thousands of prayer notes were removed Sunday from the Western Wall, in Jerusalem, ahead of Jewish New Year celebrations beginning next week, Israel’s Channel 2 reported.

The Western Wall Foundation Council, led by Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, twice a year removes the notes from crevices in the wall that surrounded the ancient Jewish temple’s courtyard, before Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, and Passover, in the Spring.

A volunteer team uses thin sticks to extract the notes, which are then buried on the nearby Mount of Olives.