Slihot (penitential prayers) are being recited by Sephardi and Ashkenazi minyanim, until Yom Kippur. The midnight prayers at the Kotel at this time of night are reciting their prayers, kissing the creviced stones, leaning their foreheads against the cool exterior, communicating with their Maker, imploring, writing notes, making personal petitions. They are praying for health, a shidduch, a child or an easy birth, national peace.