Davidson Center, Ruins and Western Wall

We went to see a movie about the Old City and the walls and the first temple built there and the remains of Herod's second temple.
The Western Wall that most people are familiar with is the very small section where you see Jewish men in traditional dress going down in front of the wall and praying.  There is a part of the wall for men only and a part for women only.  They walk up to the wall, many touching the wall, many with their bibles, prayer books from the torah...they rock back and forth, this is called "benching".  Some people say they do it so they won't fall asleep, I have a feeling there is a better reason.
The part of the wall that is exposed by the ruins is where many Bat Mitzvahs are held because girls cannot go down to the same area as the men at the other part of the wall where it is most popular, so they come to the part of the wall where the ruins are.  Personally, this area is very quiet and a better place for such a special day.  Just my opinion though.  At the ruins, we saw a staircase that was divided.  It was for men to cleanse themselves before they went up t the temple with their animal sacrifice.  They would go in "dirty" and come out cleansed wrapped in a white garment and then go up to the temple.