Tens of thousands of Jews from Israel and around the world gathered at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem Wednesday morning for the traditional mass Priestly Blessing (Birkat Kohanim) during the Sukkos holiday.
60,000 people are estimated to have joined the morning Shachris prayers at the Western Wall on Wednesday morning.
In attendance were the Chief Rabbis of Israel, Rabbi David Lau and Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, prominent rabbis and Rosh Yeshivas, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Uri Ariel, and Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, the Chief Rabbi of the Western Wall Plaza.
Rabbi Rabinovitch called the event a “tangible” testament to the connection between the Jewish people and the site of the ancient Temples.
“The coming together of tens of thousands of people to be blessed by thousands of Kohanim at the Western Wall Plaza every year is a tangible testament to the connection between the Jewish people and the Torah, our faith, and the remnants of the Temple,” Rabinovitch said.
